Hephaestus was plum concerned for the well-being of his newfound ally.
Although Irwin had showcased his abilities in a rather illustrious manner–directly teleporting Brunhilde's missing belt from within her buried kingdom–having a duel with one of the stronger witches in the Grand Coven was an entirely different manner.
But who was he to extinguish the fury of youth when he had already relinquished his?
As such, instead of uselessly floundering about and worrying for someone who was, mere days ago, but a burnt corpse and was now as strong as he was. Or so Hephaestus had led Irwin to believe.
After all, his fame and myth stemmed from his skills and physical might, not his battle prowess.
"Who do you think will win, Dear Brunhilde?" He heard Olivette ask Brunhilde as they enjoyed the serene yet buzzing scenery of the Castle's courtyard.
Witches and servants mill about as they surround the hastily constructed, impromptu dueling grounds. The runic pillars, however, were a personal creation of his; Although its original purpose being to weaken any uninvited guests of the Grand Coven until the powerhouses arrive, it was not being used to prevent the unnecessary death of the real combatants.
"Irwin." Hilde answered without fanfare, earning an inquisitive brow from Olivette.
She masked her curiosity with a gentle laugh. "Confident, are we? Are you not newly acquainted with Anastasia's student?"
"No more than three days," she answered curtly, not wanting to partake in small talk with Olivette. "He is… unusual. Do not underestimate him."
Before Olivette could reply, a commotion caused by Irwin's taunting gathered their attention
"Kids these days. Begin the fight." He suggested, to which she agreed as she snapped her fingers and activated the runes he had personally engraved upon the monoliths.
The fight began with as much fanfare as they had expected. With Katja bending the rule of the duel by bringing in his supposed familiar, an imposing giant that had been physically and mentally altered to be as strong as a golem.
The centuries of potion-making and permanent enchantments, however, were all for naught as Irwin extinguished the familiar's suffering in seconds. The fine pink mist billowed towards them.
Olivette could barely hide her disgust as waved the mist away from them.
"Well, you're certainly right about that." She said, a smile on her face. But Hephaestus could see the bulging veins upon her forehead.
With the Grand Coven having weakened as it is, any battle force as strong as Katja's familiar would hurt their fighting chance even more. It was a wonder why she had agreed in the first place, what with their recent raid on the Men of Letters bunkers killing half of their forces and with no sizable loot to come out of it to boot.
Seeing as they were still technically allies, and that Irwin needed the Coven' forces for whatever he was scheming, Hephaestus swallowed his grumbling attitude and gave her a bone.
"If Katja's getting angry, it'll be very hard for Irwin to win," He remarked casually.
Although his words were neutral, at best, it worked wonders on the clearly stressed out Olivette.
"Indeed. Although no matter who wins," Her smile spoke volumes of her resumed confidence, "It will be beneficial for the Coven. After all, Anastasia may have not returned. She was still part of the original Grand Coven."
Hephaestus merely hummed gruffly, turning his attention back to the fight. Just in time to see Irwin throw away the chewed out form of Hansel and cast his first spell.
He could not help but notice that Olivette's handle upon her teacup tightened the moment Irwin chanted his rather short incantation. He would too if he were on the wrong side of the fight.
The azure flames were as hot as his furnace, scalding the spectators even from afar.
"So, this is the magik of the Greythorne Druid." Gelmir spoke for the first time since the beginning of the fight, awe and fear in his voice.
"Well, that's just cheating." Hephaestus remarked, watching Irwin's form as he dispelled Katja's spell mysteriously.
That was not the last of their amazement, however, as Irwin became even faster and tore through the air to give Katja a punch in the face.
"Brimstone Blow!"
A large amount of magical energy was expelled from within the male witch as the runic monoliths activated their defensive sigils to create two sets of shimmering blue energy. One around Katja, protecting her from the fiery blast, and another around the fifty-foot circle dueling grounds, protecting the crowd from the intense heat released by Irwin's last attack.
The azure flames filled the entirety of the dueling grounds and, even with the flickering, yet still up, shield, the crowd could still feel the scalding fiery blaze emanating from within.
"Bet. Katja is dead, killed by the student of the druid." Gelmir's grin could not be contained as he used his unique physiology to withstand the heat of the flames.
"Shut up." Olivette hushed the giant, her eyes flowing with an intense purple light.
The flames soon died down and so did the monoliths, having deactivated due to a lack of energy.
What had remained of the dueling grounds was an indentation five feet deep whereupon Irwin stood with bated breath. The disrupted sand, billowing smoke around him, surrounded him in a wavelike pattern, as Katja wobbled around her own circle before toppling to the ground, unconscious.
Irwin gazed upon the crowd, as if to instill the memories of their shocked faces before gazing back towards them.
Thrudgelmir was relieved that he did not officiate the bet while Hilde had a proud expression upon her face.
Olivette, on the other hand, although also relieved that Katja was alive, knew of the consequences of her defeat.
So did Hephaestus, as he clapped his hands together and nodded at Irwin's smoking form.
●●●●●●
Irwin stood before the smoking corpse of Hansel, Katja's familiar, with a disgusted, but still delighted, expression on his face.
Although they had not agreed upon the rewards of the winner of the duel, such a magnificent display of martial and magical prowess was enough to astound even the leader of the Grand Coven.
As such, when he had asked for the remains of Hansel, not one of the witches had anything to say to him. Not even the clearly enraged Katja and the frustrated other Grand Witch what's-her-face.
"Let's trade this son of a bitch."
■■
All tradeable items have been scanned. Please select which item to trade:
▪︎ Hansel - Class 2 Creature- Immortal Human Variant: 49
▪︎ Fluffy Couch - (Refreshment) Slight Enchantment - Human Magik: 12
▪︎ Everlight Sconce - (Longevity) Slight Enchantment - Human Magik: 9
▪︎ Candlestick - (Scrying) Minor Enchantment - Pagan Magik: 26
▪︎ Glimmering Mirror - (Glamour) Slight Enchantment - Human Magik: 7
■■
Irwin tilted his head, contemplating a number of things–prominent of which were about the enchanted items within this very chamber.
"It's not like they'll miss it, right?" He said to himself. "I mean, they're not lacking in treasures, just in numbers. Fuck it, man. I'mma need it anyway."
■■
You have traded [Candlestick] for [26 Store Credit]
You have traded [Fluffy Couch] for [12 Store Credit]
You have traded [Everlight Sconce] for [9 Store Credit]
You have traded [Glimmering Mirror] for [7 Store Credit]
You have traded [Hansel] for [ 49 Store Credit]
Current Credit: 67 -> 177
■■
He felt relieved the moment his Store Credit went to triple digit.
He absconded the room, not waiting for the swirling ash of the disintegrated items and corpse to dissipate. It would be best if he was nowhere in the vicinity of the chamber before they found out that some of their items were missing.
●●●●●●
"Argh!"
The sound of the crystal ball breaking to numerous shards earned the attention of the witches in the chamber.
Aeneas, face inscrutable, hurried to his sister's aid. "Sister, what happened?"
Lavinia trembled under the effects of her dispelled spell, her eyes bleeding as if it was a leaky faucet. "I-I don't know, brother. I was merely scrying upon the victor when he…"
Aeneas shook his head. Although his face remained neutral, worry took form within his mind.
Her sister, although not that gifted of a witch, had a natural affinity to divination, yet here she was being affected by a cancellation of a spell.
"Make haste and go to a healer. I shall report this matter to the High Priestess." He said, snapping his hands as a servant entered the room. "Do not speak of this matter to anyone."
His mind was a flurry of thoughts as he kneeled down and grabbed a piece of the broken shard. Even now he could feel the remnants of her sister's magik, yet within that remnant lie a terrible power.
It made him shudder, even more so when he remembered the magical and physical prowess shown by Irwin. As one of the few male witches within the Coven, it reminded him of how terribly weak he was.
His voice trembled as he asked himself. "If her student could do this with merely his magical power… how strong is the Greythorne Druid?"
●●●●●
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