He pointed the pickaxe at the Magus.
"I did not choose this.
I did not train for it.
It is like waking up and being told I am now the CEO of a collapsing company, with no idea how anything works.
Yeah, the power is nice, but look at what I have to face," he said, his voice dropping as his teeth ground together.
"A God Eater?"
The air went still for a moment, then both of them moved at the same time.
Ben went in first, the pickaxe whistling through the air.
The Magus sidestepped, barely, his knees shaking with the effort.
He countered with a jagged burst of lightning from his fingers, but it sputtered.
The attack was weak and unstable.
Ben ducked under it and rushed forward.
His shoulder slammed into the Magus's chest and sent both of them tumbling across the cracked floor.
They rolled on the ground, fists flying.
The pickaxe clanged against the Magus's forearm, sending out sparks but not drawing blood.
