Chapter 32 - Loki Vs Dhira.
Loki crashed into the open field, carving a deep trench through the earth. Dhira landed moments later, wooden mace still in his hand.
Then the world changed. The sky rippled. The field vanished. A vast rainforest stretched in every direction. Different from once he was familiar with, once he had never been. Trees hundreds of meters tall pierced the heavens. Vines thick as ships coiled around their trunks. Strange flowers glowed beneath massive leaves, and above everything hung two blazing suns.
Dhira frowned. This was not Earth. The air smelled different. The wind felt wrong and the two suns were obvious enough. Loki's laughter echoed from every direction.
"Oh, Styggs really disappointed me." Her voice drifted through the jungle.
"My traitorous son helped you against my little illusions. I didn't like that." A pause followed.
"But this?" She laughed again. "This is different."
Dhira looked around calmly. Loki had realized something. Her direct illusions no longer worked on him. Whatever Stiggs had left behind was interfering with her attempts to fool his senses. So she had changed tactics. Instead of casting illusions on Dhira, she had cast one on the world itself. "Enjoy, dear."
The jungle suddenly shook. A growl echoed through the trees. Branches snapped. Something massive emerged from the undergrowth. A Gulon. The creature stood nearly two meters tall at the shoulder. Its body resembled a fusion of lion, saber-tooth tiger, and puma. Thick muscles rolled beneath its hide. Long fangs protruded from its jaws. It lunged. Dhira swung the wooden mace. The weapon passed straight through it. An illusion. Then the Gulon's paw slammed into his chest. Dhira slid backward through the dirt. His eyebrow twitched. The illusion wasn't real. The damage was.
The beast attacked again. Dhira ducked beneath its jaws. Its tail whipped past him. A nearby tree split clean in half. He swung again. Nothing. The mace passed through its body. The Gulon growled. Loki laughed.
"You learn nothing from your mistakes, mortal." Dhira ignored her. Instead, he closed his eyes. His breathing slowed. Sound faded. Touch faded. Sight vanished. One by one he shut down every sense. The world disappeared. Darkness. Silence. Then something else awakened. The sense born from countless battles. The instinct that existed before thought. The sixth sense, his warrior sense.
Immediately the rainforest vanished. The Gulon vanished. The illusion vanished. All that remained was a small magical construct hidden far behind the beast, a tiny small patch of energy that gives this creature of magic life.
Dhira moved. One swing. The construct shattered. The Gulon exploded into purple sparks. Far away, Loki raised an eyebrow.
"A little annoying." She snapped her fingers. Five more Gulons appeared. Then ten. Then twenty. While Dhira destroyed them one after another, she began preparing something much larger. A spell. A real one. The temperature started rising. Slowly at first. Then rapidly. Leaves curled. Grass blackened. Even the moisture in the air began evaporating.
Dhira opened his eyes. His sixth sense immediately found the source. High above. Loki floated in the sky, eyes closed, hands raised as streams of purple energy gathered around her. Dhira didn't hesitate. He hurled the wooden mace. Loki casually lifted one hand. The weapon froze in midair. Without opening her eyes she smirked. "Too slow." Then she felt something. Her eyes snapped open. Dhira was already there. A fist crashed into her face. Again. The impact folded the air around them. Loki shot downward like a meteor and slammed into the jungle below. The earth exploded. For several seconds there was only silence.
Then Loki stood. Dust covered her face. Her smile was gone. "I really don't like that." She raised both hands. The illusionary rainforest ignited. Purple fire flooded the horizon. From the flames emerged towering warriors made entirely of living fire. Some carried burning axes. Others wielded enormous swords. Their eyes glowed like furnaces. The moment Dhira saw them, a grin spread across his face. "Now that's what I'm talking about." The giants charged. Dhira met them head-on. His mace shattered one skull. A punch destroyed another's torso. A sword cut across his shoulder. He ignored it. An axe struck his ribs. He ignored that too. The battlefield became chaotic. Explosions. Fire. Flying debris. Falling giants.
Loki watched from above. For the first time since the fight began, Dhira looked like he was actually enjoying himself. One by one the fire giants fell. Then Dhira looked up. Their eyes met. A provoking grin appeared on his face. Loki's eye twitched. She raised both hands. A colossal hand made of molten stone, debris, and purple fire formed above the battlefield and descended toward him. Dhira swung upward. The giant hand shattered. Chunks of burning stone rained across the jungle. Loki stared at him for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. "Aren't you cute?" Her Swedish accent made the insult sound almost affectionate. Almost. She was cooking something.
Dhira felt something. A shift. A pressure. But he realized it a fraction too late. An invisible force slammed into him. The impact lifted him completely off the ground and launched him high into the air. His grip loosened. The wooden mace slipped from his hand and spun away. Dhira crashed through several massive branches before slamming into a stone outcrop jutting from the mountainside. The boulder cracked beneath him. For a moment everything was still. Then he stood. Rolling his shoulder. Stretching his neck. Testing his balance. Sore. But far from finished.
He was about to leap back into the fight when a glint of steel appeared behind him.
Loki. A short blade flashed toward his ribs. Dhira twisted. His palm struck the flat of the weapon and knocked it aside. Loki followed immediately. No magic. No illusions. She was using just skill. The blade darted toward his throat. Dhira stepped back. She spun. The sword came for his knee. He blocked it with his forearm. Loki flowed into another strike without pause, her movements smooth and precise, like someone who had spent centuries fighting warriors far stronger than herself.
Dhira answered with brute force. A punch. A kick. An elbow. Loki avoided the first two and blocked the third, but the impact still forced her backward. The ground beneath her feet shattered. Dhira stepped in. A heavier punch followed. This time Loki crossed both arms to defend. The force blasted her through a nearby boulder. Rock exploded and Dust filled the air. Purple flames erupted. And she vanished. Dhira immediately stepped back. He knew better now. And like he expected it happened.
The next attack came from the side faster than the previous one. . A glowing runic spear shot toward him. He ducked. A second Loki appeared atop a ruined pillar. Runes floated around her fingers. A third appeared behind him, her hands engulfed in purple fire. Dhira exhaled slowly.
" This again." The runic Loki attacked first. Symbols flashed through the air. Chains of light erupted from the ground. Dhira smashed through them. The fire Loki attacked next. Waves of purple flames rolled across the battlefield. The heat distorted the air itself. Dhira was forced to dodge rather than charge. For the first time in the fight, Loki was controlling the pace. She wasn't trying to overpower him. She was exhausting him. Separating him. Frustrating him. Trying to break his defence one way or another and so did.
Dhira parried a flaming blade. Dodged a runic bolt. Avoided another invisible force. Then be finally saw an opening. The fire Loki overcommitted. Dhira grabbed her leg mid-kick. A flash of surprise lasted only a second on Flaming Loki's face. Then he slammed her into the ground hard enough to leave a crater. Purple flames burst outward. She vanished again. Dhira clicked his tongue.
"Annoying." A laugh echoed from above. He looked up. The real Loki sat comfortably atop a massive tree branch, one leg hanging over the side. A golden goblet rested in her hand. She took a casual sip.
"You surprised me, mortal." Her Swedish accent carried easily through the battlefield, and Dhira started to feel it was very unpleasant.
"And forced me to use moves I haven't used in a while." She swirled the drink. "Do you know how long it has been since I fought seriously?" The goblet vanished in purple flames. Loki hopped down from the branch and landed gracefully. She stretched her shoulders. Rolled her neck. Almost casually.
"Gods above." A small smile appeared.
"My bones were getting old." She raised her hand. Runes formed between her fingers. Ancient Norse symbols spun through the air, glowing violet against the twin suns overhead. Loki spoke a phrase in Old Norse. The world answered. Three enormous runic circles appeared behind her. The symbols rotated slowly. Then figures stepped out. One. Two. Three. Three Lokis. Each identical at first glance. Yet different upon closer inspection. One carried herself like a warrior, her stance low and balanced. One had glowing runes orbiting around her body. One burned with purple fire from head to toe. Only the original retained the long strand of hair she always twirled between her fingers. The four stood side by side. Four smiles. Four pairs of glowing eyes. The original Loki folded her arms.
"So." She tilted her head. "Let's fight properly."
The warrior Loki moved first. The fire Loki attacked from the right. The runic Loki raised her hand to cast. And the original remained behind them all, watching carefully, already planning three moves ahead.