The two generals VS Zarok (third brother)
Zarok, a hulking bandit with aggressive, rotting flesh, gripped his short double- bladed axes tightly. Their edges sparkle in the cold weather. Opposite him stand the two generals, Orion and Darius, holding their spears firmly.The long shafts of the weapons gleam with precision, their tips deadly sharp. Zarok as well as the two generals lock eyes, exploring each other's weaknesses.
Zarok makes the first move, dashing forward at incredible speed. The two generals faintly lose track of him. Zarok slicing through the air, aiming for both generals necks. General Orion leaps back while General Darius twists to his left side, narrowly avoiding the attack.
General Darius aimed his spear at Zarok's left leg, but Zarok gently lifted his leg, avoiding it. Before he can regain his balance, General Orion spins his spear, cutting through Zarok's chest, but heals instantly. Both generals are shocked at the sight, stepping back to create space. "How is that even possible? to heal in an instant?" General Darius burst out. Zarok swings the two axes simultaneously.
"Ha, ha, ha. You must be shocked to see this. We've overcome all human weaknesses. Soon, we will transcend into immortality, thanks to bloodbane." He said, clenching his hands around his axes. "Transcend to immortality? my foot. You're more like a walking corpse, worse than humans right now." General Orion replied, giving him a disgusted gaze.
Close to the gate.
King Axel raises his spear to his chest level, gazing intensively at his opponent. Ravok (second brother) glaring back, placing his double-blade axe on his shoulder as his rotting skin peels down, turning to dark dust. "Long time no see, King Axel. You are really stubborn to the core," he said, cracking his neck. "Since you were poisoned with 'bloodbane,' you should have just given up on your mana rings and be like us." He said, bouncing his axe on his shoulder.
"Because of your greed," King Axel replied, darting forward, 'You gave up being human, just to be a living corpse." His spear jabbed out, aiming for Ravok midsection, but he bent backward, narrowly avoiding the strike. The spear whistles past his ribs as he swings his axe brutally, aiming for King Axel's head. With incredible reflex, King Axel leaps back as the axe slices through the air, some inches away from him.
Meanwhile, Drake and Isabella just arrive at the war scene, and Isabella leaps out of the sleigh. "Hey, Isabella, wait, you can't just jump into the middle of the war." Drake shouted, jumping down from the driver's side. racing after her. Isabella, searching for her way, is caught off guard as one of the undead stirs; it's decay hand reaching out and grabbing her.
She let out a sharp "Yelp." as the undead tried to bite her. Drake sprints to her rescue. "Aqua dragon roar, (3 circles). He invoked materializing pressurized water through a mana circle on his right hand. the undead toss away. "Hey, you need to listen to me from now." He scolded her. Isabella nods in fear. He holds her hands as they move and dodge incoming attacks.
Back to King Axel and Ravok.
A lot of moves have been exchanged between them. King Axel, back to the midst of the fray, releases his spear, coating it with a shimmering ice aura. "Ice Aura: Cold Embrace. (3 circles). He enchanted. A small mana circle materializes behind the spear, transforming the aura into a snowflake encircled by icy tendrils. He strikes at Ravok; the spear connects with a resounding clang. Ravok stumbles back, paralyzed by icy force.
King Axel, moving closer, falls on his right knee, his expression hardening, realizing that one of the four rings encircling his heart is shattered. The paralyzing effects fading from Ravok's body, the Cold Embrace spell though powerful paralyzing spell, having lost much of its potency due to King Axel's weak mana.
"Ha, ha, ha. You're a fool. Let me tell you about bloodbane's effect." Ravok said. After coming into contact with the bloodstream of a mage, it goes straight to the heart, where its effect begins. It gradually starts degrading the mana rings around the heart until there is none left. That's when the transformation into an undead begins, just like what happened to me and my brother. In return, we become stronger, and all our senses improve along with these decaying bodies. Using mana when you are poisoned with bloodbane is only speeding up its effect. Ha,ha,ha,ha." He said, laughing as he stepped forward.
He smiles, seeing King Axel kneeling. Ravok, slinging his axe, aiming for King Axel's throat. However, King Axel was ready. Instead of dodging, he slings his spear upward. deflecting the axe blade with a loud clang. Ravok instantly stepped back, creating some gap between them. King stands on his feet, swinging his spear.
"It seems I don't have a choice." Forbidden spell: Heart-Rend spell (multi- circle)." King Axel invoked. Margining the three leftover rings around his heart into a single explosive ring. Heart-Rend spell is ranked forbidden because it puts pressure on the heart, which hardens it, resulting in the heart cracking. The maximum record of usage is 5 minutes, depending on the mage condition.
King Axel knows he has less than 1 minute to do whatever he has to do. He hears a loud voice calling to him. "Fa...ther" the voice shouted. He turns back, facing the direction of the sound, and smiles towards it even though his vision starts getting blurry, not seeing who called him. He turns back to his opponent. Clenching his hands on his spear. "Ice Aura: Arctic Domain (5 circles)." He evoked. A midsize mana circle appears at the bottom of the spear, materializing the aura around it, creating a 20-meter radius domain.
The domain is made of intricate snowflakes within a circle of ice shards, with cracks and ice blooms radiating outward. Ravok starts suffering from frostbite attacks.
King Axel leaps toward his opponent. "In my domain of frost and ice, none shall stand unfrozen." He declared. Jabbing his spear through Ravok's chest. Ravok falls dead on the cold floor while King Axel is grabbed by Isabella, placing his head on her knees. Drake stood behind her, rubbing both hands on her shoulders to calm her down.
"Father, hu,hu,hu subs." She cried. Rubbing tears from her face with her hands. King Axel raises his hand, his fingers trembling, placing it on his daughter's head. "Sweetheart, don't cry; this is my responsibility to my kingdom." He said, his heart cracking with pain. "You are the only Kald bloodline left; please grow to be a strong and reliable woman." He said, his hand falling onto the frozen ground. Isabella, hugging her dead father, her face wrecks of tears. "Don't go, ho, ho, ho. Don't leave me." She cried out, her voice filled with despair.
Before Zarok stood the two generals, an ominous hulking bandit with decaying flesh that seemed to reek of malice. His short, double-bladed axes shone danger in the cold, their edges gleaming with an eerie sharpness. Orion and Darius, the two stalwart generals, held their spears like extensions of their body, shafts polished into lethal sheen. Silent tension thickened as gazes met in the stillness of a silent battle of wills, each weighing the weaknesses in the other's defenses.
Zarok sprang forward in a blur of raw fury, like a tempest loosed from its chains. The air around him actually seemed to ripple from his speed, and the generals felt the faintest slip in their focus as Zarok's axes slashed through the space where their necks had been. General Orion leapt back in a swift arc while General Darius twisted sharply, escaping the deadly sweep by a hair's breadth.
With the instinct of a warrior, General Darius thrust fiercely toward Zarok's leg, but Zarok lifted his foot in an almost mocking grace and sidestepped the strike. But as he shifted, General Orion's spear spun like a biting wind, slicing across Zarok's chest. To their horror, the wound sealed itself immediately, leaving no trace but their growing dread. "How is that even possible? Healing in an instant? "Darius' voice was edged with disbelief.
Zarok's laughter cracked through the cold air, thunderous and grim.
"Ha, ha, ha! Shocked, aren't you? We've trampled human frailty beneath us. Soon we will transcend to immortality thanks to bloodbane." His hands clenched around his axes with passion. "Transcend to immortality? You're nothing but a stinking corpse, worse than any human now," Orion countered, his face contorted in disgust.
But at the gates, another duel was unfolding. King Axel stood ready, spear held level with grim determination, his eyes ablaze as they met with those of his foe, Ravok. Ravok-what once passed for human skin peeling away from the bone like the flaking pages of some ancient book, grotesque parody of a human-revealed an empty smile filled with confidence. "Long time no see, King Axel. Still so obstinate, I see?" His tone was thick with mockery. "Bloodbane's poison courses through your veins, yet you fight against it. Why don't you embrace decay to become like us?.
"Your greed has corrupted you beyond recognition," Axel spat, his spear darting forward like a frozen lightning bolt. Ravok bent backward with sinister agility, narrowly dodging the strike, his axe slicing through the space where Axel had just stood. Drake and Isabella arrived amidst the turmoil, Isabella leaping from the sleigh before Drake could stop her. "Isabella, wait! You can't just charge in! Drake's voice was urgent as he leapt down to chase her. Isabella searched the chaotic scene before she was suddenly seized by a decaying hand clawing up from the ground.
A chilling cry escaped her as the undead sought to drag her into its embrace of death.
"Aqua Dragon Roar, !" Drake's voice rang out as he conjured pressurized water from a gleaming mana circle, blasting the undead away. "From now on, you have to listen to me." Drake's tone was soft but serious. Isabella nodded, staring big-eyed as he took her hand and guided her through the endless fight. On the other side, in the fight between King Axel and Ravok, neither made an action that was not necessary, every strike sounding expertly in the cold air.
Mustering his will, Axel allowed his spear to assume a quivering, frost-heavy aura.
"Ice Aura: Cold Embrace." he shouted, his words followed by a swirl of ice-laden tendrils through which a crystalline snowflake took shape behind his spear.
The strike hit with the clanging sound, and Ravok stumbled backward, frozen in place as the paralyzing force surged through his body.
But Axel's triumph was short-lived. Falling to one knee, he felt the crack within himself—a mana ring shattered, its remnants clinging to his weakening heart. The ice of his Cold Embrace faded, the potency of the spell slipping through his fingers. Ravok's laughter cut through the chill like a rusted blade. "Ah, you fool. Allow me to enlighten you on bloodbane's embrace. The poison seeps into a mage's heart, slowly corroding his mana rings until there is nothing left. And then the decay turns them into one of us. And with every heartbeat that they use mana, the rot sets in faster." His dark chuckle was the sound of arrogance made flesh. King Axel sprang to his feet as Ravok closed in, his eyes aglow with malice. His will breaking free, he whispered, "It would appear I have little other choice now." Calling forth the forbidden, he said, "Heart-Rend spell-multi-circle." He combined his three remaining rings with a surge of pain from his heart. He knew less than a minute was available-a minute in which he had to make his last stand against the encroaching darkness. From afar, a trembling voice shook: "Fa…ther! " He twitched, his eyes blurred, but a soft smile relaxed his features before he faced forward again, motionless. Clutching his spear tightly, he shouted his final trick.
"Ice Aura: Arctic Domain-five rings-!" he shouted, and a midsized mana circle appeared from under his feet, spreading outward as the terrain transformed into a frozen battleground.
Snowflakes danced within, and frost-bitten tendrils burst outwards, hurling Ravok into an ocean of frostbite.
Axel leaped to him with eyes cold as steel.
"In my domain of frost and ice, none shall stand unfrozen." Axel's spear surged swiftly and surely forward, piercing into the chest of what was once his brother. With a loud thud, Ravok hit the frozen ground as King Axel, his strength waning, was caught by Isabella, who cradled his head, her tears spilling out freely. Drake stood beside her, hands on her shoulders, a silent anchor. "Father…," she blubbered, every tear a witness to her sadness. King Axel shook, his hand reaching for her head and touching it with tenderness weighed with sorrow. "Don't cry, my dear. This is the duty I bear for my kingdom," he whispered, tugging on his heart to that last excruciating crack. "You're the last of the Kald bloodline. Grow strong and carry on our legacy." His hand slipped from her grasp and fell lifelessly to the frost-ridden earth, and Isabella clung to him, wailing in a requiem of sound. "Don't leave me, please…," she wailed, a fractured song of despair in the quiet that followed.