As Shuna advanced toward Adalmann, a shadow flickered at the edge of her vision. In an instant, the shadow materialized and struck. Geld had been tasked with subduing the Undead Dragon, leaving Shuna exposed as the figure glided past the Amethyst Guards with unnerving ease.
The sharp clash of metal echoed across the battlefield as Hakuro intercepted the deadly blade a few feet from Shuna. Yet it was clear that were it not for Hakuro, Shuna would have likely taken a fatal wound.
Shuna stopped for a moment, yet her eyes didn't leave Adalmann.
"Allow me to handle this, My Lady." Hakuro muttered, his gaze unwavering from the Death Knight, who retreated, dodging the countless attacks from the Amethyst Guards and preparing for the next strike.
Hakuro exhaled deeply, adopting a low stance as a strange mist began to swirl around him. The Knight raised his blade, and the mist thickened, shrouding Hakuro in an ethereal fog.
In a flash, Hakuro burst from the mist. His blade aimed squarely at the undead Knight's chest. But the Knight deftly parried with an upward slash, sending Hakuro's sword skyward. Seizing the opportunity, the Knight brought his blade down in a swift arc, aiming to cleave Hakuro in two. However, Hakuro vanished using Shunpo, reappearing a few feet away, unscathed.
"A remarkable display, just as our Lord predicted." Hakuro exclaimed, a faint smile on his lips. "I am Hakuro, proud instructor of Tempest's army. What is your name?"
The Death Knight looked on at Hakuro. His lifeless eyes flickered with a spark of recognition at the question. His rotting skin did not allow for much expression, yet judging by the change in stance, it seemed as if the Knight had been momentarily woken up from their slumber.
With a sudden burst of speed, the Knight unleashed a series of precise and deadly slashes. Hakuro moved with fluid grace, deflecting and dodging each strike. At one point, it seemed the Knight had decapitated Hakuro, but the severed head dissipated into mist as Hakuro reappeared behind the Knight, his blade finding a gap in the armor and piercing through.
"Hm, it seems your current body is—" Hakuro began, but his words were cut short as he narrowly avoided the Knight's retaliatory strike, leaping back just in time.
"Very well." Hakuro muttered.
Finding someone who was not only his match but also his superior when it came to the blade had given him a sense of kinship with the Knight. If it wasn't for the Knight's rotting body, he was sure that he wouldn't be a match.
In addition, since he had so much faith in the words of his Lord, he already saw the Knight as an ally. Soon, they would both be working under the same King. Yet he would drop that notion for the moment. Otherwise, he might end up losing the fight.
As the Death Knight advanced once more, Hakuro drew in a deep breath. The mist around him thickened and swirled as if it were an extension of his body. Using the Fifth Form, Hakuro moved with the mist, his body becoming a blur. He combined Shunpo with his movements, creating a zig-zag pattern that kept the Knight on the defensive. His blade was relentless, a continuous flow of precise strikes.
In a fluid motion, Hakuro appeared beneath the Knight, his sword poised to deliver the Thunder of Heaven and Earth, his signature Hazy Style technique. Yet, even as he moved, he couldn't help but admire the Knight's grace as he stepped back, dodging the feint with ease. The Knight saw through Hakuro's deception and countered, aiming to cut him off mid-move.
Relaxing his entire body except for his legs, Hakuro twisted under the Knight's first slash. Rising swiftly, he blocked the second strike with his blade, using his Hazy Style to redirect the energy of the Knight's attack into a counter.
His Flowing Water Slash became faster and faster, yet all Hakuro managed was to leave a small cut on the Knight's neck.
The Death Knight's eyes glimmered with an increasing spark of life, and his movements became more fluid and natural despite his decaying form.
Sensing the shift, Hakuro used Shunpo to create some distance between them. He needed a moment to reassess his strategy.
"Guaahhheuiah." The Death Knight attempted to speak, but his rotting throat and tongue could only produce garbled sounds.
"Don't worry, my Lord will return your voice once he is the ruler of Jistav. I have no doubt of that." Hakuro reassured the Knight as he took in another deep breath, the gentle sounds of flowing water emerging from his blade. "But until then, let us continue."
As Hakuro and the Death Knight continued their intense duel, Shuna gracefully navigated her way toward Adalmann. Undeterred by the hordes of undead that surrounded her, she swiftly commanded her Amethyst Guards to engage and hold them back, ensuring their duel would remain uninterrupted.
"Adalmann, I finally understand why Lord Rimuru holds you in such high regard." Shuna greeted him, her gentle smile masking a mixture of wariness and anticipation as she looked upon the skeletal figure.
"Hoh? Do you already know me? In that case, I should warn you that you aren't strong enough to defeat me. If I were you, I would turn around now. I can see your people can hold back my skeletons, but even then, they will continue to rise back." Adalmann replied, his voice tinged with excitement at the sight of the chaotic battlefield.
It wasn't often that he got to talk with someone, and though he would not go easy on anyone, he would at least be able to enjoy talking with all of the people here before they were defeated.
"All I need to do to stop them is defeat you. Am I wrong?" Shuna asked, her gentle smile unwavering as she met his gaze.
"Oh? You saw through my secret so easily. May I ask what your name is, Miss." Adalmann asked, preparing himself for the battle.
"I am Shuna Tempest, Queen of Tempest. Though, for this battle, I will focus solely on defeating you, so excuse my lack of formalities." Shuna replied, gracefully lifting her arms as she began to weave her magic.
"Tempest? Where is that set? I haven't heard of it. Yet, to be honest, I haven't heard about the outside world in some time." Adalmann asked as he raised one of his hands and made a Magic Circle appear in front of it.
"The forest of Jura." Shuna replied.
"Really? I thought the forest was off limits because of the Storm Dragon." Adalmann mused. As he spoke, countless magic circles formed around him, unleashing a barrage of ice spears aimed directly at Shuna.
Shuna's eyes lit up with determination as she summoned a wall of black flames, effortlessly melting the ice spears into steam.
"Veldora is part of Tempest. He's my brother-in-law, and he has been nothing but pleasant. I'm sure he would be interested in meeting you, too."
Adalmann's jaw dropped in shock at her words. The idea sounded absurd, but the sincerity in Shuna's voice made him pause.
"You know, there is no need for us to be battling at the moment. My goal when coming here is not only to take over Jistav but also to recruit you into Tempest. Soon, Clayman will be defeated by my husband, Lord Rimuru. Which means you will finally be free from the chains that bind you." Shuna spoke, activating her Diplomatic Charm Subskill as she did.
Adalmann hesitated, his skeletal hands weaving an intricate spell. With a sudden burst of energy, he conjured a massive fireball, compressing it to the size of a baseball before hurling it at Shuna. Reacting with lightning speed, Shuna extended her hand, summoning a protective tornado that engulfed the fireball. The intense heat was dispersed by the swirling winds, leaving her unscathed.
"Ha!" Adalmann laughed, a hollow, echoing sound. "I appreciate the offer, but there isn't anything you can do for me."
Placing his hands together, Adalmann summoned countless Death Vines that erupted from the ground and surged toward Shuna. With a graceful gesture, Shuna raised her hand and hijacked the spell, causing the vines to crash harmlessly to the ground.
"I am serious, Adalmann. I can see the chains that bind you. I can set you free right here, right now." Shuna said, her voice filled with unwavering determination.
Adalmann's hands hesitated as he listened to her, a flicker of hope glimmering in his eye sockets. Yet, the curse placed on him by Kazalim tightened its grip, forcing him to continue the fight. Even the simple consideration of surrendering triggered the curse to take full effect.
Sighing, despite his lack of lungs, Adalmann looked somewhat saddened.
"It seems I must go all out from now on. Forgive me, Miss Shuna. I will not forget your kindness."
With a wave of his hand, a pure death aura radiated from Adalmann, strengthening all the skeletons around him. Their eyes glowed with an unholy light as they surged forward with renewed vigor.
"Don't worry, Adalmann. I understand." Shuna answered.
Adalmann began weaving his spell, and the ground beneath them trembled. A massive skeletal hand erupted around Shuna, attempting to crush her. Shuna countered by summoning massive roots from the earth, which wrapped around each finger, stopping the hand from crushing her, yet Adalmann didn't stop.
Dark, snake-like monsters slithered out from a magic circle, their bodies tangling together as they lunged toward Shuna. Instinctively, she lowered her hand, summoning a lightning bolt from the sky to strike the serpents, causing them to explode in a burst of dark energy.
Sharp wind blades followed immediately, slicing through the air with lethal precision. Shuna raised a wall of earth to block the onslaught, but the intensity of Adalmann's attacks only grew fiercer.
The ground began to tremble and rise as Shuna cast a spell to manipulate the terrain. She elevated the earth around Adalmann, forming towering pillars that gave her the high ground. With a snap of her fingers, she transformed the ground beneath Adalmann into mud, causing him to sink. Another snap turned the mud into solid rock, trapping him.
Adalmann looked on, impressed but undeterred, he sighed once again.
"It's useless." He muttered, the ground under him changing to allow him to fly over as he took over before the pillars of dirt where Shuna stood, causing them to tremble. "I've been doing this since for almost a thousand years. Just let me give you a quick death it's the least I can do."
With a wave of his hand, the earth around him morphed into a gigantic dirt golem towering over the battlefield. Adalmann controlled the massive construct with ease, directing it toward Shuna.
Sylphide, instantly appeared around Shuna, lifting her into the air with a powerful gust just as the golem's massive fist crashed down where she had stood. Hovering above, Shuna took a moment to assess the situation.
Shuna frowned as she saw the golem, yet she didn't feel despair as she looked at Adalmann.
"I may not be quite as experienced as you, but…" Shuna began turning to look at the earth golem. With a look, she activated her Analyst skill to the best of her ability, quickly deciphering the spell Adalmann was using before raising her arm. "I will not embarrass myself by failing to use the gift I was given to the best of my ability."
As the golem prepared to punch her out of the sky, Shuna hijacked the spell and changed its trajectory to attack Adalmann instead. He felt surprised to once again see his magic be so quickly taken over. Yet, by focusing, he was able to regain control of the golem just in time to stop him.
But that was all just a simple distraction as she focused on the storm above her.
Shuna knew she didn't have the magicule capacity to fight an all-out war against another magic user of Adalmann's level. So she made sure to prepare the storm above her beforehand. That would be her weapon.
Shuna's Analyst Skill allowed her to understand magic almost instantly, depending on the level of complexity, and she had gone to Veldora himself in preparation for the battle to have him teach him some of his Storm Magic. Unlike Benimaru or Ranga, who had obtained it as part of their Evolution or Gifts, Shuna had to learn the spells from the Dragon himself. A feat only made possible through the Crest of the Storm that Tempestians held.
Black Flame was easy enough since she had seen her brother use it countless times, yet the other skills took far longer, enough for her to grasp only the basics. Thankfully, she had formed a pact with a Greater Wind Elemental before the battle. Thanks to Rimuru and Ramiris, she would be able to form a pact with all of them, but she planned to focus on one at a time in order to maximize their potential.
Using Sylphide's help, the winds underneath them began to surge with renewed intensity across the battlefield as the lightning above them thundered.
"How…" Adalmann muttered as he felt the surge of magicules. Looking up at the sky to see the lighting turn a pitch-black color in the clouds.
The dirt golem instantly moved to cover Adalmann, and just in time, countless Black Lightning bolts began to fall on him. One after the other, the storm continued to rage as the lighting exploded on the dirt golem. Yet, as the final bolt fell and the rain began to stop, Shuna felt a surge of danger, and she instantly dodged out of the way with Sylphide's help.
Through the cloud of dust underneath her, a nuclear-level magic called "Nuclear Cannon" shot out. Passing just by where Shuna had just been moments ago, and piercing all the way up to the clouds.
Shuna descended to the ground, the dust settling to reveal a chaotic landscape of ice, stone, and shattered bone.
"I must admit, that was an impressive display." Adalmann praised, his voice carrying a note of genuine respect. "It's been hundreds of years... no, I don't think anyone has made me use so many layers of protection since I became a Wight."
Shuna looked worn out from her attack, yet she simply took a deep breath to steady herself as she looked back at Adalmann.
"If it wasn't for the preparations I made during my free time, even I wouldn't have been able to fend off against it…" Adalmann continued, but noticing Shuna's stare, he couldn't help but look at his hand.
"Ah." Adalmann muttered, seeing his hand's broken bones, charred black. "But it is still useless…"
His voice carried a hint of disappointment, as though he had hoped for a release from his existence, only to have it snatched away.
"I'm sorry." Adalmann added, his voice weak as his regeneration kicked in. The broken bones slowly reformed, turning pure white as they healed. "I truly do wish you had succeeded."
"Don't be. Everything will be okay now." Shuna told him with a smile, yet Adalmann wasn't able to answer as he prepared to cast his strongest magic once again.
Just as his magicules were stabilizing, he felt them go wild and untamed.
"Magic Jamming?" Adalmann asked, turning to look at Claire, who had appeared behind him and was currently holding him in place with her talons. "It's a good try, but there are ways to overcome it. This, at most, only wins you a minute or so before I am forced to fight you again."
"Why do you think we had to weaken you first?" Claire asked as she looked at Shuna, who quickly moved in front of Adalmann.
"Ah, so is this your plan? In that case, do make sure to destroy every last one of my bones so that I can't regenerate." Adalmann casually requested, as if he had been prepared to die for a long time.
Shuna simply gave him a gentle smile as she reached her hand and placed it on his chest.
"You can leave the goodbyes for later. Now, stay still."
— — —
Special Thanks to my Beta Readers/Editors: The one, the only, the amazing @Basilisk, the Aussie @LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord) and @Kiyan Tribe (FF.net/AO3/QQ/WN) | kiyan_tribe( Discord)
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