Seventeen's left arm twisted and snapped back into position. He whirled his arm and smiled, "That's better."
"Are you sure about this Seventeen?", Zephyrus asked. The winds still swirling around his polearm. "Yes, Headmaster. Please let me take care of this guy.", Seventeen requested.
Zephyrus sighed, "Fine. I will set up a barrier around the mountain to contain the damage.", he looked at Vicaris, "You seem like a reasonable person. I trust you are okay with that?"
"Of course. Besides, there will be no interruptions with the barrier set up.", the Dragon Knight nodded.
"Very well.", Zephyrus said and clasped his hands. {Air Code: Storm Barrier}, his eyes glowed green and a huge amount of magia was released.
*******
On the stronghold, one of the Cardinal Knights on guard duty was in the middle of nodding off in his job when the wind suddenly grew strong.
"What the?", he muttered before his eyes widened with shock. There, a few distances from the stronghold, a massive column of wind and clouds enveloped the Silent Mountain.
The wind grew stronger and rain started to fall.
He ran to the command room. "Call the Captain!", he yelled to the Knights gathered there. "We already did. She's on her way.", one of them answered.
Soon enough, the door was thrown open and Jade entered the room with a serious expression, "How bad is it?", she immediately asked.
"The storm has completely enveloped the Silent Mountain. We believe it is a barrier.", another Knight reported.
"There's only one person who can make this possible. It's Cardinal Zephyrus. He might've encountered trouble and has created the barrier to keep whatever he is facing contained.", Jade speculated.
"Should we mobilize the squad?", her Vice-Captain, Ava asked. Jade thought about it. She shook her head.
"No. We need warlocks in Ethereos. The Cardinal is strong. He could handle a tough opponent.",
"But Captain. It's the Cardinal!", Ava protested.
"I know Ava.", Jade pulled out her sword, "That's why I will go."
She looked at the dark clouds surrounding the mountain, 'Just what have you encountered, Headmaster?', she thought.
*******
Vicaris sensed the barrier form and completely enveloped the mountain.
"Well then. Let's sta-", before he could finish, a black blade appeared in front of him. He immediately raised his greatsword and the two blades clashed, releasing a shockwave.
Vicaris slid back due to the force. Seventeen looked calm. He removed the limiter on Nyx and a gust of wind flew from the blade as if it had released a big breath. The runes on the blade glowed and the temperature lowered.
"You said you will protect the throne. But if we fight here, the room, heck the palace will be destroyed.", he said.
"As long as the throne of my king is unscathed, it is fine.", Vicaris said. "Alright then.", Seventeen dashed forward, his blade enveloped with lightning.
Vicaris did the same and they clashed, shattering the floor beneath them. The whole palace shook as their presence collided.
Zephyrus sat on the steps leading to the throne as he had to maintain the barrier. He was in awe of the strength of the two individuals. Blue and red flashed as they clashed viciously.
They zipped around the throne room. Seventeen turned at a pillar when suddenly Vicaris appeared from behind it.
"Shit!", he fell backward and the greatsword sliced the pillar in half. Seventeen swung upward at the Dragon Knight's hand but Vicaris switched his weapon to his other hand and countered with a powerful downward slash.
Seventeen's back hit the floor and he rolled sideways as the sword decimated the place where he was lying a few seconds ago. Seventeen held out his hand at the greatsword.
{Earth Code. Binding Hold}, the earth under the shattered floor rose and wrapped around the greatsword before Vicaris could raise it. He grunted as his weapon became stuck.
Seventeen got up and switched Nyx with a throwing knife. He charged it with lightning and threw it at the Dragon Knight's head.
Vicaris immediately let go of his sword and raised his hand as the lightning knife hit him with a blast. Electricity passed through his armor.
Seventeen appeared in front of him. His fist ignited, {Fire Code: Volcanic Fist}, and he landed an explosive blow to the Knight's chest. The floor and the nearby pillars shattered with the force. Vicaris was blasted through the walls of the throne room and the great hall and he crashed outside the palace.
Vicaris stood up and shook off the blow. He sensed Seventeen rushing up to him at lightning speed. He reacted fast.
Like before, Seventeen appeared in front of him. But before the android could land another blow, Vicaris quickly grabbed him by the throat.
The Knight's hand ignited right in Seventeen's face and he was slammed into the ground with enough force to form a smoking crater. Vicaris then flung him straight into the roof of the cavern.
Seventeen twisted in midair and used the winds just enough to prevent him from slamming into the stalactites of the cavern. He crashed through the ceiling of the palace and somehow landed on a bed.
'Comfy.', was the only thought in his mind before a greatsword almost lopped his head off. Seventeen summoned Nyx and blocked just in time but the strike was powerful. The bed broke and he crashed through the floor back into the throne room.
"Ow.", he said despite not feeling any pain.
"Are you alright?", Zephyrus asked. "Oh I feel fantastic.", Seventeen croaked as he stood up.
Metal boots slammed into the now-destroyed floor as Vicaris landed a few feet from him. A small scorch mark on his chest showed where Seventeen had dealt his blow. Other than that, he was completely fine. He had retrieved his sword and held it at his side.
Seventeen too was unscathed, a testament to his body's durability but he could feel that his throat was almost crushed when his opponent grabbed him.
Seventeen dismissed the messages and looked at the Dragon Knight, "What a tough guy.", he muttered.
The problem was not the power difference between them. Seventeen is capable of defeating Vicaris. The problem is the guy's ridiculous durability and stamina.
He retracted Nyx and summoned two black daggers. They emitted pressure into the air.
(I haven't seen those blades in a long time. Well, I've only used them once.)
He crossed the daggers in front of him and ignited them, {Fire Code: Phoenix Cloak}, Red and golden flames enveloped him.
They both dashed at each other and clashed.
The whole mountain trembled with the power of the battle. Zephyrus felt his barrier struggling against the intense magia energy and he concentrated more to maintain it.
The throne room was getting destroyed as the battle progressed, each strike emitted powerful shockwaves and energy that shattered stone and ripped metal. The throne remained unharmed in the middle of the destruction.
"This is an archaeologist's nightmare. That cat will be flipping if she sees this.", Zephyrus sighed as he had cast a barrier around him and the throne.
The fight was getting more intense. Seventeen's magia vision flared as he watched every single movement of the Dragon Knight, his artificial brain calculating and predicting every strike. He felt his Reserve depleting. Like Code Cancel, his visions take magia from his Reserve rather than from the surroundings.
Seventeen increased the power of his attacks and started pushing back. His flames glowed brighter and hotter. He infused lightning into the daggers to deal more damage.
Suddenly he sensed magia from under him. He jumped sideways as an earth spike shot up from where he stood. "You tricky bastard.", he grinned.
Another spike shot towards him. He sliced it up and kicked the pieces at his opponent. Vicaris swiftly dodged them and swung upwards. Seventeen used his daggers to block it and was thrown into the ceiling.
He crashed upwards through the roof and emerged above the palace in the air. {Fire Code: Wings of the Phoenix}, he floated above the palace and felt Vicaris rising up to get him.
'Not so fast.', he thought and held out his hand, {Earth Code: Stonemaster}, a huge stone spear emerged from the cavern floor and Seventeen positioned it sideways. Vicaris appeared in front of him, sword raised.
"On your side.", he said with a smirk. The stone spear struck the Dragon Knight in the side and crashed him into the cavern wall. Rocks tumbled from the cavern wall and Seventeen could see the silhouette of Vicaris behind the dust cloud.
He barely had time to pause before his face was grabbed and he was slammed into the cavern wall. Vicaris pushed him through the tough rock and they broke out from the side of the mountain.
The clouds of the storm barrier swirled around them. Seventeen was flung at the storm and he bounced off the barrier and straight into Vicaris's fist.
He quickly recovered and flew around the Dragon Knight. He increased his speed and landed consecutive blows.
He switched the daggers with Nyx and gathered magia into the blade, concentrating it. A hum filled the air as the magia was concentrated intensely and the blade glowed brightly.
Vicaris wasn't just floating simply. He had tanked the consecutive blows and was enveloping his sword with lightning.
When Seventeen got close enough he attacked, {Lightning Code: Bolt Crescent}, a powerful arc of condensed lightning flew at Seventeen.
{Code Cancel}, he nullified the attack, to the surprise of the Dragon Knight. He enveloped his foot with lightning and landed a powerful kick that blew Vicaris to the side of the mountain, dazing him for a few seconds.
That much time was enough for Seventeen as he swung Nyx upwards, 'Seventeen Style fourth form: Equinox', an intense wave of magia rushed at Vicaris who dodged it at the last second. It was really close.
The magia wave cut through the mountain and parted the barrier for an entire minute, before splitting the sky. The Silent Mountain shook as it parted into two, forming a deep valley straight in the middle and reaching the base. Rocks fell down the mountain and into the valley.
Seventeen was able to see the palace between the gap, it had a barrier around, probably erected by Zephyrus at the last second. He didn't understand at first what had happened.
Then it hit him, "Oh shit."
(Did you just slice a mountain in half?)
"Oops."
Vicaris looked at the sliced mountain in utter shock. If he had been a little bit late in dodging it, he shuddered and looked at Seventeen looking around in a panic.
"What kind of a monster are you?"