Twelve
Clash
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'I love the second sun,' Yaş said, staring at the ball of fire in the sky as he stood on top of the wooden beams of an unfinished house.
Cek didn't respond, and not only because he was occupied building a crane for Petror.
'Why? Oh, it's because this one feels less hot than the others,' Yaş continued.
'Lord Cek! Petror yelled, 'how much weight can it handle?'
'More than you will use it for,' Cek said.
'What!?' Petror shouted back, unable to hear his King clearly.
'More than you will use it for,' Cek said again.
'Can you hear him?' Petror asked a worker next to him.
'No, not at all,' he said, shaking his head no.
'We can't hear you, Lord Cek!'
'Although I'm quite fond of the second one, it's not my favorite. I like the 10th one the most, I'm sure you can understand why. I'm fine with anything as long as it's not the fifth to be hon-'
'More than you will use-'
'YES, DAMN IT, YES, IT CAN WITHSTAND!' Yaş shouted back to Petror enraged.
'That is not what he asked,' Cek said, turning to Yaş.
'That's not what I asked, Lord Yaş!' Petror shouted.
Yaş gave a smack to Cek's back, pushing him off the building. Cek plummeted, bending his knees to absorb the impact, landing successfully next to Petror.
'Lord Cek,' Petror said.
'More than you will use it for.'
'Great, thank you dearly,' he said, kneeling in front of Cek. Cek kneeled himself, getting face to face with Petror, followed by Cek brushing the sand underneath them.
'Lord Cek, we've been over this. I didn't lose anything. Please stand back up,' Petror said with an awkward laugh.
As he did, the loud cries he'd gotten used to these past days arrived once again for him to hear. 'Cek!' Su shouted through them.
Turning his head to the call, the cries turned to laughter and were getting louder and louder. Like a projectile, Igni swooshed through the air towards Cek, wearing a vest and pants made of chain mail.
Reflexively, Cek made a web of chains connecting one palm to another, creating a net to catch the flying infant. As his fragile body touched the iron, Cek spun his body and web clockwise, carrying the infant's momentum with it, until it'd slowed down adequately, so to not cause harm in any way.
A whistle was heard from the top of the house, following Yaş landing next to his co-King.
'Nice catch!' he said, putting a hand on Cek.
'What's wrong, Su?' Yaş then asked, seeing him close in, anger clearly worn on his face.
'I'm sick of being a babysitter! Igni has nothing to do with me, just let me train in peace,' Su said.
'You're taking turns, aren't you? It wouldn't be fair if you skip your duty,' Yaş replied.
'It's not fair that it's my duty in the first place!'
'Unk,' Cek said.
'Yes, father,' Unk said from behind Yaş, appearing out of the doorless house.
'What? How… why were you even in there?' Yaş asked.
Cek passed Igni to Unk, with him accepting without question, but before he'd let go of the infant, Su took a hold of his wrist.
'Cek, I'm supposed to train with Unk today, it really pisses me off that you make us take care of Cuma's child, since it disrupts my training tremendously.'
'Cuma is a snake,' Cek said.
'Then you take care of Igni.'
'I do not have to.'
'Why the hell not!?'
'Because you are here,' Cek said.
Su let go of his wrist, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes to calm down.
'Su, I know it's hard to accept, but we're your elders and the Kings of Ryut. Because of our responsibilities, and because the burden of Igni proves too heavy for the civilians to bare, we entrust you and your peers with it. Just wait until Cuma gets his body back,' Yaş said.
'Then let me take care of those so called ''responsibilities'' while you take care of Igni,' Su said.
'You cannot,' Cek said.
'Why not?'
'Because you are not a King.'
'Then make me one! I fought in the war just like you did! The only difference between us is our age.'
'No,' Cek said, releasing Igni in the arms of Unk.
'That's a tall order for someone who can't even fly yet, little Sujin,' Yaş said.
Su turned his back, leaving in an anger different from the one he arrived with. 'You'll see one day. Mark my words, old man. I'm going to be the strongest Demon in Alem,' Su thought, putting his hands in his pockets.
'One proper hit,' Cek said, halting the young Demon abruptly, causing a jiggle in his afro.
'What.'
'In a month, if you're able to land a clean hit on me, you will not have to take care of Igni any longer,' Cek said, 'prove yourself.'
Su didn't know what to feel. Confidence in himself was never an issue, and he feels the need to hit Cek daily. Yet now offered the opportunity, a strange feeling crept up in the back of his head. However, as strange as it might be, it wasn't nearly strange enough for him to decline. As a matter of fact;
'I don't need a month. I'm ready, let's go,' Su said, squeezing his right fist at eye-level.
Petror, visibly shocked by what was going on, said; 'w-with all due respect, my Lord, is it really necessary-'
'Let us head to the palace-center. Unk, do not let any civilians enter after us. Yaş, make sure Su doesn't damage anything during the fight and also that other thing,' Cek said.
'Wait, you're actually doing this?' Yaş replied. He looked at his apprentice, who showed a face he rarely does, an honest smile. 'Oh well, I guess I want to see what's gonna happen as well…'
And so, Unk closed every door after they entered the palace-center, an 80 by 40 feet empty zone surrounded by stands able to fit about four-hundred Demons. Built for theatrical plays for the former royal family, the Kings left it untouched after the incursion, by request of Cuma. His reason being that he'd entertain the others when he found time for it. Little was it used, however, and not for lack of time, but the mischievous King's 'entertainment' couldn't be contained to a single spot and especially not planned on a certain date.
Each participant standing ready on one end of the zone, they commenced to walk towards each other with locked eyes. Meeting in the middle, the chain haired King looked up to the taller and much wider youth.
Even though, aside from himself, only Unk and a crying Igniculus were there to watch the battle, Yaş still chose to treat it as a spectacle.
'Ladies and gentlemen, today, the first of the second sun, in the palace-center of Castle Ryut, I, your handsome King and protector host present to you-'
'What's going on?' Lucille asked from the doorway.
'Come in, come in quick, take a seat,' Yaş said, 'Alright where was I… right! I present to you a battle between King and pupil! On the left side, standing five feet eight inches, the chain-Demon from East-Central, Cek-the-Warden! And on the right side, standing six feet two inches, the water-Demon from North-Central, Su! … he really needs a title, huh?' Yaş said, looking at Cek's children. Unk didn't even notice he was being spoken to, with Lucille looking at Yaş, back at her father, and back at Yaş again, pointing at herself, asking, 'm-me?'
'Never mind, girl.'
Igniculus' cries became louder. Even though Unk was the one holding him, he barely acknowledged it. 'Just when I thought I got used to the volume,' Yaş said, 'we really need someone who has experience in taking care of children… together with a lot of willpower…'
'Don't worry, master Yaş! He'll stop once we start, I guarantee it. That boy's a warrior!' Su shouted from beneath.
Trusting him, Yaş nodded and said; 'alright gentlemen, rukuth!*'
'I wish you luck feeding that little shit,' Su said. Cek doesn't respond and just turns his back to him. Su does so as well, touching Cek's back with his own.
'Locktario*,' Cek says, 'Locktariae*,' Su replies, after which the two Demons take steps until they reach the ends of the zone.
'Lu-ra!*' Yaş shouts, beginning the duel. Immediately, Su points with his left index-finger, his thumb out as well, taking aim. He raises his right hand, spreading his fingers. He stomps his right foot on the ground and with his left hand shoots a spray of water able to pierce flesh out of his finger, quickly followed with a slash of his right hand, summoning five thin strings of ice, sharp as a blade. Being higher up then the two fighters, the most left string of ice reaches the spectators, with Yaş letting it break on his wrist after sealing it with his own ice, protecting the other three.
The spray and string reach the still unmoved Cek simultaneously. Effortlessly, he moves his neck to the right at the last second, letting the spray pierce the tribunes behind him. At the same time, with both hands, he claps and stops the string coming down on his head, as the other three slice the zone's sand.
Unk blankly stares at Su. At this point, Igniculus had already stopped crying, watching the fight with the utmost attention.
'Is that all you got, Cek says arrogantly,' Yaş says, trying to impersonate the monotone voice of his co-King. Unk and Lucille turn to Yaş. 'Just trying to add some spice,' Yaş says with a smile.
Igniculus almost starts crying again, with the others saying; 'don't,' at the same time, turning their heads back to the fight. 'I miss Cuma,' Yaş says glooming, 'he'd have definitely found that funny.'
With both hands now, Su unleashes dozens of shots, all of them either dodged or slapped away by his opponent. Su stops the hail of bullets and focuses on charging a single one in his right finger. Seeing this, Cek finally decides to act by turning his planted right foot 90 degrees, making chains shoot out from under Su, one by one trying to bind him to the ground. Su reacts in time and with fleet footwork gracefully evades the chains, moving closer towards the border on his left.
Reaching it, he jumps on the wooden base of the tribunes, launching himself at the chain riddled path that chased him. He shouts: 'shield!' creating a shield covering the outside of his left underarm, using it to force a way through the chain-made bars. Making it out unscathed, he throws the ice-shield at Cek in a backhand-motion. Cek prepares himself to pulverize the oncoming object, but before it arrives, Su shoots a spray of water from his left hand, instead of a straight shot however, it makes a wide curve to the left, aimed at the side of Cek's face.
Cek reveals the shard of ice he'd caught from Su's previous attack, throwing it at the shield, breaking it into pieces. However, a growing smile on Su's face reveals the water-Demon's anticipation, as Cek's eyebrows rise at the sight of Su aiming his right index-finger at him between the shards of the broken shield.
Cek ducks forward, dodging the curved bullet coming from his right. He points his left palm directly towards Su and moves it in a circle, creating a flat and dense spiral of chains, right as Su unleashes his charged shot. Few question the strength of Su, but even the strongest struggle to break the chains of the Warden.
Yet the power of a water-Demon rarely relies on strength. Unk and Lucille can't take their eyes off the action. Yaş exhales a breath of Yu through his nose and smiles. 'You've learned well about the strengths of us water-Demons,' he thinks, 'the most creative of all kinds.'
The charged shot hits the spiral, leaving a dent, but nothing more. In that moment, with his body leaning forward and his hand on the chain-spiral, Cek swiftly looks down, picking up a rumble beneath the sand. A boulder of ice shoots upwards, closing in on his exposed chin.
Knowing that Cek doesn't have enough time to move his body back, Su's excitement rises, almost able to taste his sweet victory.
He was right, but sadly, of all people, he faced the Warden. The unflinching Demon with the coldest of minds. Although he didn't expect the boulder from beneath, he kept his cool and found a way in the smallest of seconds he had.
Instead of leaning back, Cek leaned the slightest bit more forward, bending his fingertips, using it to push on the chain-spiral, creating just enough momentum backwards to dodge the boulder. As it passes in front of his face, his nose feels the chill it emits.
Yaş looks back at Su's side of the zone, seeing a hole in the floor. 'He stomped during his first attack to prepare for this one,' he thought, 'splendid.' Unk leans closer to the fight, at the edge of his seat, amazed by his rival's ability to craft and pull off such an elaborate attack. Chains can travel fast under the sand, but for a block of ice to do so without alerting his opponent, he had to carefully control it in the depths, all the while attacking and evading during the fight.
The spectator's exhale, thinking the battle reached the climax, but they couldn't be more wrong. Su is well aware of how capable his opponent is, and so, even though believing he was about to win, played it save still. When the boulder launched in the sky, missing Cek's face, Su had already been on the move, closing the distance between him and Cek.
Su doesn't give Cek a moment of rest, but in a battle of stamina, he knows he's doomed. Visibly exhausted, and with each second passing his chances getting slimmer, he has to finish the battle soon.
Su pushes onward. After regaining his balance, Cek swiftly jabs his spiral, easing its resistance, allowing it to carry on the force of his fist as it flies towards Su in an attempt to slow him down. Not allowing him to do so, Su puts his strength to use, smashing the spiral with the back of his left hand. An adequate method, had it been your average object.
With a slight gesture of his fingers, Cek unwinds the spiral. As it swings open, the chain wraps around Su's neck. Ignoring the implications, Su pushes onward, readying his right fist, almost in range to land it. He gazes into the Warden eyes, eyes that make him question if he's even fighting a Demon.
He strikes as fast as he can. A later release would've put more pack to his punch, but Su doesn't mind the amount of damage his hit will inflict, as long as it's undoubtedly earned.
It's a shame the anatomy of a Demon comprises longer legs than arms. The considerably shorter Cek places the bottom of his foot on Su's chest and push-kicks him. The water-Demon gets knocked back to his side of the zone, abruptly stopped by a forceful pull on the chain around his neck.
Yaş can't help but reminisce at the sight of Cek having his opponent on a leash, the image he'd seen countless times in days long past.
'Is that all you got?' Cek says.
Yaş quickly turns his head towards Unk and Lucille, not getting any reaction, let alone the reaction he'd hoped for. He returns his attention to the fight.
Su doesn't give up, but in the state he's in, he can do only little. He takes a step closer, but immediately Cek stiffens the chain on Su's neck, turning it into something more of a rod. Unable to come close, Su attempt another attack from afar, but before he even begins, gets lifted in the air.
Still standing on the very same spot since the battle's start, as if he's flying a kite, Cek holds his opponent 50 feet in the sky with only his right arm. Su grabs the chain, relieving some pressure off of his neck.
Even with his legs dangling, Su still manages to think on his feet, cocking his upper leg back, with his heel almost touching his bum, readying his knee for an attempt to break the chain as he envelops it in a sharp piece of ice.
'What is he doing! Cek will just ease the chain, making it impossible to break!' Yaş says from the tribune with his arms folded.
Su smiles and waits a single second. A glitter in the sky catches Yaş' attention as he understands what's going on.
Su launches his knee at the chain. Seeing this, Cek eases it just before it makes contact, but at the exact same time a boulder of ice falls down from the sky on the opposite side of the now flexible part of the chain. With both his knee and the boulder connecting, the chain snaps.
The amazement forces both the Warden's children to stand up.
'He kept the missed boulder he shot earlier floating in the air, guiding its decline towards the chain when he needed it. He's a genius,' Yaş says to himself.
Even Cek is genuinely impressed by his opponent, if only mercy held a clearer spot in his dictionary.
His body about to fall down, he lets go of the leash on his neck and reaches for the still stiffened, more proximal part of the chain. Using the acceleration of the Yu's downward current*, together with him climbing down the chain, he speeds up headfirst towards Cek, this time with so much force, that Cek won't be able to stop him with his body alone.
Tension rises. Cek quickly shoots a chain up from underneath the sand, however, it arrives just too late to hit Su. Almost close enough to strike, the Yu within Su vibrates from his excitement. Cek shoots out another chain from the ground, this time from an angle towards Su, however, it arrives prematurely.
Su, on a one-way street to victory, tilts his head to the left, dodging the chain rushing towards the sky. The chain grazes his right shoulder, but Su doesn't mind, getting close enough to hit Cek.
Cek stares at Su, unfazed as always. In a fraction of a second, with Su's fist only inches away from reaching Cek's face, the two chains shooting up from the ground reveal to be connected, lifting the poor youth up from his crotch as all the momentum he'd gathered comes to a stop. The crushing blow on his gentle parts force a high pitch squeak out of the water-Demon.
'One month,' Cek says before finishing the well fought battle with a quick jab to the forehead, causing Su to lose consciousness.
Yaş exhales his gathered breath with a big sigh. 'So close! So damn close!'
Yaş jumps down to take a look at his apprentice lying on the ground. He squats to get closer, and although knowing his words don't reach Su, still speaks; 'you fought well, but this deadpan King proved too strong for now. You have to be even more prepared when it comes to fighting this weirdo. You're lucky you have me. I can't remember the last time I've been tricked.'
Unfortunately for him, he was about to have an experience he wouldn't be forgetting soon, for the zone had been occupied by three from the start.