The crowd was unable to see the aftermath of the clash due to the fierce wind and cloud of dust.
"Hey! Isn't that Lucius?! He's the only one standing!" One of the warriors exclaimed in excitement. The wind and dust finally died down, revealing the aftermath of their clash.
Lucius, barely standing, spat out a large blob of blood with a pained expression. His hand was badly burnt, with part of his face scrunched up as if a force was unleashed upon it. Right before them, his injuries slowly healed with a glowing crystal firmly held in his good hand.
Duncan, not far from his position, was not unscathed. His right hand was shredded apart just from the impact with a golden staff stuck in his stomach. "Ugh," he groaned in pain, slowly pulling out the staff from his stomach.
Throwing the broken staff away, his body rapidly healed. His eyes were shining brightly as he prepared for the next round. "C'mon, I can do this all day!" He exclaimed, slamming both fists together.
Kael metres away from both was covered in injuries. His hand was completely torn apart, with half of his body terribly burnt. He struggled to his feet, feeling pains just from the slight movements.
"Arghhh," holding his stomach, he staggered backwards, finding it difficult to stand. "It fucking hurts!" He muttered as his injuries began healing.
Kael, watching his opponents already ahead of him, muttered curses, trying to come up with a plan. "They would certainly heal before me! If this damn body can heal quickly!"
[Healing will be boosted thrice the current rate if the abyssal heart is granted control over your other heart]
"No! Not right here. That I can't use except my life's in danger. I'll just have to make do with what I have."
[Warning! Energy is low!]
11
"Really? You think that would work on me." Kael muttered with a frown. Clenching his already healed fist, he watched as the duo slowly made movements.
Duncan, with a roar, underwent a shocking transformation stunning the crowd. A pair of large bony wings sprouted from his shoulders with scales covering his fist spreading to the rest of his body, finally ending just below his chin.
Picking his sword from the ground, his eyes moved between the two foes before landing on Lucius. "Don't worry, take your time and heal, I'll handle this guy once and for all... and then we'll have enough time to have fun together!"
Exploding forward, Lucius's eyes widened in shock as Duncan's sword appeared before his face wrapped in dark flames. "Damn you!" Clenching the crystal in his hand, it crumbled with his body phasing through the attack.
Duncan, letting out a frown, gazed around before finally landing at the figure, which slowly formed a few metres away.
Exploding forward with his sword beside him, he appeared before Lucius swinging wildly once again.
"Ahhh! This is fucking annoying!" Lucius exclaimed, jumping backwards. A long spear appeared in his hands as he leapt high, pulling the spear backwards. Wave of golden energy surged around as he swung forward, releasing the spear.
Duncan swinging his sword easily cut through the attack with the spear breaking into two. "Those artifacts won't save you!" Spinning his sword above his head, he swung down, releasing a surge of flames that erupted from the ground.
"Shit!" Leaping backwards, he felt a presence behind his back. "You!!" He exclaimed as Kael's foot slammed into his back, pushing him forward.
Duncan hovering above clenched his fist tightly with flames wrapping around. "This is it!" The crowd watched as Duncan's fist slammed into his stomach, sending him skyrocketing away.
Kael, now finally healed, watched from the sides. Duncan, flying above him, released a breath of flames that covered Lucius entirely.
Queen Otrera finally made a move quickly, passing through the barrier and holding onto the burning figure. Just like the last time, the flames finally disappeared, revealing a half burnt figure.
"Don't mind me. You guys can continue with your fight," she said with a smile before carrying the unconscious Lucius away for treatment.
Kael, not wanting to lose the opportunity, appeared behind Duncan with a clenched fist. Swinging forward, both fists slammed into his open back. The fists were accompanied by a strange force that sent Duncan flying forward.
"That worked." Kael muttered, charging forward. Pulling his hand back, Duncan felt a force pulling him backwards. Kael, appearing above, joined both fists together and then slammed down. Manipulating the gravity around the area, his fist streaked down at a high speed crashing between his wings.
The attack was a strong one. Duncan, crashing to the ground, was back on his feet quickly. "Hahaha, that's it. Give me more!" He exclaimed with his aura surging wildly. Running forward, he swung his sword forward, releasing arcs of flames.
Kael blinked across the area, easily evading the attacks and then appearing behind him he swung his fist forward.
"Got ya!" Duncan exclaimed, conjuring a flame of wall behind while quickly swinging his sword in a wide arc.
"Nope, I'm way ahead of you," Kael muttered, disappearing and then appearing right before his face. His fist slammed into his face, sending him skidding backwards.
Teleporting before him, he released a flurry of attacks with his fist covered in his gravity aura. Each blow was heavier than the usual, breaking through his hard scales.
Duncan, releasing a burst of flames, finally had a brief respite. He didn't wildly charge forward this time around. His eyes slowly observed the crouching Kael.
Kael felt he was in his zone and now taking a crouching stance with fists shaped into claws he lunged forward. "Spatial claw swipe!" He exclaimed as he swung his hands forward, leaving a ripple behind. The space appeared to be distorting, with Duncan feeling a force holding him in place.
"Damn! I was so excited that I let my guard down." He cursed. "But... he would have to do more than that to defeat me." He declared boldly managing to raise his sword high.
Kael fist seemed to have disappeared from his sight, bypassing his sword. "Arghhh," he screamed in pain, feeling a ripping pain in his chest from behind. "Ughh, what the…"
Kael was behind him with his hand deep in his back, shocking the crowd. Queen Otrera let out a knowing smile as if already expecting the outcome of the battle. Her face soon turned to a frown as she noticed Kael digging deeper into his body, slowly making his way to his heart.
"Don't tell me he's at it again!" She thought quickly rising from her seat.
Duncan collapsed on his knees with his sword dropping to the ground. The attack was a fatal one, which had bypassed his defence and rendered him with a critical injury.
"That guy knew what he was doing along," he muttered before coughing out blood. "He played us right from the beginning." Yet a smile was on his face as his vision slowly turned dark. If not for the energy expended on battling Lucius, maybe he would have been able to do something.
Kael finally pulled his hand out strangely looking at it. This time around, that tinge of disdain wasn't mixed with the desire of consuming the blood and bits of flesh on his hands. He felt a ringing sound in his head as he struggled to keep his hand down.
His eyes soon landed on the unconscious Duncan.
"No! What the hell is wrong with me!" He exclaimed as a scene of him consuming Duncan flashed in his head.
"We have our winner finally," the voice of the queen brought him out from his somewhat trance state. Staring at Queen Otrera arriving beside him, she raised his hand up while the shocked crowd finally began cheering wildly.
"What... the... hell," Princess Aretha muttered with a shocked expression. For some reason, she felt a strange peace within seeing he was the one that won.
Kael finally declared the winner collapsed on the shoulder of the queen, passing out.
"The marriage ceremony will take place in three days' time." Queen Otrera announced as she handed over Kael to the warriors stationed to cater for the wounded. "It seems things are truly falling into place... according to the prophecy."