–Just leave us alone already... – said Cirael to Ktul
Ktul, despite his serious appearance, scratched the back of his head and, taking out a crumpled piece of paper from under his robe, looked at the paper.
–Honestly... yes, in the hindsight, I could just leave you, but here, according to the Necronomicon's script, I have to say something like "I am looking for strong opponents, so stand up and fight"... but, to be fair, you are a little unable to fight right now, therefore, such a phrase would be... far from the truth.
He spread his arms and put the script back under his clothes. The two Clains looked at each other uncertainly. Is that unending disaster over? Just as the black energy around Oliver dried up, the sword on the ground dissipated, and the wings of black flames completely disappeared. Indeed, Oliver and Cirael were "slightly" unable to fight.
–That's some serious trouble... an epic battle should happen here right now, but the main characters are not capable of this... – Ktul began to walk back and forth, scratching his chin. – On the other hand, if they die, it will only mark the end of the iteration, so nothing bad will come of it... however, it will not be the epic battle they planned...
The Clains could only listen to him without any understanding of these words. What scenario, who planned this, why should there be a battle here?... but before they had time to ask this question, a man appeared between the man dressed in green and the spouses, in whom Oliver and Cirael recognized the archmage Arai. He said:
–If that's what you... no, if that's what they want, then why shouldn't there be this battle? I will be your opponent.
Kai, whose name is already known to readers, smiled slightly and extended his hand to Ktul, as if inviting him to the "dance". In addition, he yawned very deeply, apparently showing that he did not take his to-be-opponent seriously. However, the fighter in green was not offended. On the contrary, with delight on his face, he bowed to the newcomer.
–It will be an honor for me to fight with you. After all, you are...
–Yeah, yeah, I am that one Kai who has not lost even once, since the 1st iteration. Let's do it without too much pretentiousness, okay? Get up, it's not right for a duelist to bow almost to the ground, – of course, Ktul did not bow to the ground, if you don't take into account his hair, but Kai still chose this wording, after which he turned to Oliver and Cirael, who at the moment did not understand anything at all. – Well, we're off. Enjoy learning the truth, main characters, good luck not going crazy and all that.
–"We're off"? – Cthul asked again.
–Yeah. If we fight here, the Clains won't survive, and therefore...
Kai snapped his fingers and disappeared, alongside with Ktul. The Clains looked at each other. "The truth"? "Main characters"? What the hell is everyone talking about, damn it?! And just when they thought that the surprises were over, another character appeared on the stage. The number of events per meter of text exceeds any acceptable limits and it ceased to be funny.
–Ayo! You were looking for me, it seems? – said an openly childish voice from somewhere on the side.
Turning around at this sound, in a slight panic, Oliver and Cirael looked at the speaker – among the ruins, in an improvised chair made from fragments of walls, sat a teenager of about 15 years old, whose "clothing" was a "robe" created from sheets of paper fastened together. His short red hair fluttered in the wind that was not there.
–And who you might be?... – asked Oliver.
–M? Oh, well, I'm Necronomicon, of course!
Cirael cast an angry glance at the teenager.
–You! All this happened because of you! – the angel waved her hand at the ruins surrounding them. – And even our friend died, and our friend went crazy!
–Because of me? But wasn't it Schrödinger who sent you to me? But weren't you the ones who decided to go on a journey? But hadn't Sean been planning this betrayal for a week now? – said the Necronomicon, shaking his head thoughtfully. – Okay, I agree, you can't blame them. Just like you can't blame me, either. In the end, everything is by the God's will, now isn't it?~
–Are you going to evade responsibility by blaming fate?!
–Well, well, Oliver, don't say such things. When I tell you everything, you will understand that I am right. Well... then let's move on to the reason you're here, alright?
–But... – Oliver began, but immediately shut up when he saw what was happening around him.
The ruins around the Clains and Necronomicon began to rise, connect and change so much that it was clear that reality itself was waring. Soon, these pieces of stone formed a cozy study room with three armchairs, a covered table between them, and even a fireplace. The walls were covered with green wallpaper, it was unclear where it came from, however, no one was surprised anymore – the furniture also appeared, right from nowhere. Before they knew what was happening, the Clains realized that they were already sitting in their chairs.
–So, you guys wanna the truth, hah? – Necronomicon asked and grinned.
~*~
After being involuntarily teleported, Ktul looked around. He and Kai found themselves somewhere in a deserted place. The ground here was stony and red, like on the salt mountains, but everywhere you looked, there was a flat plateau. Kai stood with his back to Ktul, the magician hands on his belt.
–Where are we? – asked the green-haired one.
–A couple of light years from where we were a second ago. Well, you know, I'm afraid that in our battle a star system or two may be destroyed, and I don't want to kill these Clains.
–Let me ask. Why do you want to save them? When the Clains of previous iterations died, you did nothing. When my...
–I'm no hero. I act out of my own interests, and I have a specific goal. And I need... no, not both of them. I need exactly Oliver alive to make this goal a reality.
Ktul's face turned slightly angry after his sentence, but he soon exhaled and returned to his neutral tone.
–So, we will fight here, on this dead planet? Okay, the scene isn't that important, – Cthul got into a boxing stance and prepared to lunge, placing his right foot on the ground. – Defend yourself!
Kai turned sharply, but this did not stop Ktul – he sharply rushed towards the man, but, as he approached, he retreated, because something suddenly flew up in front of him. Thanks to his reaction, Ktul realized that it was Kai's sword, which was thrown right into the stratosphere by Kai's swift movement of one hand.
Although the green-haired man only lost the initiative for a moment, that was enough for Kai. With a sharp step forward, following the retreating enemy, the magician put his right palm forward, as if striking. The hand didn't even touch Ktul, and energy burst out of it, shimmering across the entire color spectrum, while blocking the enemy's view. The winged one waved his scaly hand through this energy, and the magic dissipated. But Kai was no longer there – he instantly appeared behind Ktul, and while Kai himself gathered energy in the form of a blade around his hand, the ground under the winged man's feet became loose, and he got stuck in it. At the same time, Kai pierced through Ktul's body, after which he let go of the sword made of magical energy, quickly dodged and, leaning on his hands, kicked the enemy, sending it straight upward.
All of the above happened hundreds times faster than at the speed of light, but even so, Ktul could be aware of Kai's actions. Yes, the sword pierced his body, but he protected himself from the kick with his wing. There was no trace of this blow left on the wing, but the kinetic force from it threw him over the horizon. But at the same time, the smooth plateau of the same color did not end at all, no matter where he looked. Kai expected a similar result from his attack – he knew that Ktul's scales dispelled magical energy, and his wings were actually completely indestructible, no matter what force was used.
Ktul flew a couple of thousand kilometers before he regained control of his body and, after pulling out the sword from his own chest – the wound healed instantly – flapped his wings, took off in the air and almost instantly found himself where he was before – in front of Kai, already holding his right hand in the pose for a punch. However, by leaving the ground and flying into the air, Kai avoided the punch. In addition, just now his half-broken sword flew back from above, falling with its hilt down, which the magician grabbed and, taking advantage of the acceleration from the fall of the weapon, dealt a crushing blow to Ktul.
The man in green barely managed to cover himself with his wing on top. The sheer force of the impact created a huge crater, at the lowest point of which Ktul found himself. Kai immediately disappeared, and when the green-haired man removed his wing to look around, he immediately saw that a huge meteor was flying towards him. He wanted to cover himself with his wing again, but could not move it – something was holding him back from moving, it must be another of Kai's magic. Therefore, he absorbed the meteor's impact with his body, closing his eyes.
Kai looked at it from somewhere in orbit, floating in space. He didn't need air, and temperature didn't matter. After the impact of this meteor, about a third of the earth's crust of the planet where this battle took place was destroyed. However, this was not enough. Overcoming the layers of the atmosphere, Ktul, in such a short period of time that there was no point in even mentioning it, flew from the surface of the planet next to Kai, and all this in one dash. Now his entire body was covered with scales.
The magician created over ten magical barriers between himself and the enemy, but one touch of Ktul was enough to dispel them. Ktul, for the first time this battle, reached Kai and grabbed him by the neck and, flapping his wings once, flew down, reached the surface in an instant, slammed Kai into the ground at full speed. If that wasn't enough, he punched right through his chest with his other hand.
Immediately Kai appeared behind Ktul, and the body that his opponent "killed" exploded, throwing the scaly one straight towards Kai. Having pierced the enemy again, this time with his own broken sword, the magician created some kind of sphere of energy in his second hand. Of course, the scales of Ktul would dispel this attack, but Kai had no intention of attacking with it. Pulling the blade from Ktul's chest and jumping back, the magician squeezed this sphere, destroying it with his hand, after which the whole world began to distort. Fragments of space fell like shattered glass, revealing an empty space with no boundaries.
Before Ktul had time to realize what was happening, Kai waved his hand to the side and this space seemed to shrink. The "walls" holding the entire space-time continuum, ignoring Kai, closed in, risking crushing Ktul. Around this rectangle, which was now barely larger than a man, was the same deserted battlefield on which the events unfolded. Somehow, in such a narrow space, Ktul managed to cover himself with his wings, creating a perfect ball. Now nothing can harm him – all physical attacks are blocked by his wings, and magic is dispelled by his scales. Even the collapse of the space of the entire universe created by Kai was held back by this absolute protection.
–Oh well, he is on defensive now. Okay, let's end this farce.
Kai sighed and snapped his fingers again. A fireball appeared in the sky... or rather, that's what it seemed at first. If you look closely at it and won't blind, you will understand that this was not a ball of fire at all, but a full-fledged supernova star. The already disfigured surface of the planet, on which Kai and Ktul were fighting, now turned into ashes – the unmatched power of the sun was too great for the battlefield to withstand. But this had no effect on Kai. Even when the matter that made up the planet was instantly burned by a star that appeared close to the surface, he continued to hang in the air, watching as Ktul's "impenetrable defense" turned into a makeshift oven in which he was cooked alive. From the side of Ktul, something like "I give up!" was heard, to which Kai nodded and snapped his fingers again. The sun he had just created went out, became covered with ice and shattered with its pieces scattering in all possible directions.
–I hope this will be enough for Gerda, – said Kai.
The walls of space that were collapsing around Ktul also disappeared, and he finally lowered his defenses.
–Just what are you?...
–Good question. I am the character who will put an end to this farce called "Narrative". I think no one will mind. Now, I'll go. After all, I will have a guest very soon, I need to greet him in most epic manner possible.
With a slight shrug of his shoulders and a smile, Kai disappeared, leaving Ktul alone in the vast space. And only now did the thought come to Ktul's awareness that he was defeated in just a few milliseconds, because that's how long this battle lasted, despite the number of events. Kai was a monster, indeed.