King Goblin watched them, his contempt palpable. Loïd, impatient and intoxicated by his power, did not wait. With a roar, he revealed his large sword, a massive etheric steel blade that instantly caught fire. He rushed at the monster, swinging his weapon into a devastating bow.
"I don't need your help, orphan!" he yelled as he charged.
Hakime gritted his teeth, but had no choice but to follow him. His Aegis of Light shone brightly as he advanced, his spear pointed at the king.
The ensuing fight was long, exhausting, and totally uncoordinated.
Loïd was a storm of fire and steel. His fiery sword fell on King Goblin with brute force, flying shards from the monster's stone shell. Each impact produced a spark roll and a dull rumble. The king appears to be beating with his claws, which were surprisingly resistant to heat and steel. Loïd, confident in his strength, sought at all times to deliver a decisive blow, ignoring the openings that Hakime was trying to create.
Hakime, for his part, was Loïd's antithesis. He wasn't looking for frontal shock. He used his spear with surgical precision, targeting the shell joints, the eyes, and areas where the mist seemed less thick. Its rays of light, though less spectacular than Loïd's flames, burned the king's flesh where his shell was damaged. He was trying to distract the monster, to blind it with flashes, to create opportunities.
But Loïd did not see them, or did not want to see them. On several occasions, Hakime created an opening by blinding the king, but Loïd, instead of taking advantage of it, chose this moment to launch a charged and predictable attack that the king, although blind, could instinctively ward off.
"Stay back!" growled Loïd after one of his attacks was countered, sending burning stone bursts in Hakime's direction. "You're bothering me!"
King Goblin, despite the damage he suffered, almost seemed to enjoy this discord. He used his haze to drain their stamina, and his attacks became more calculated. He took advantage of a blind charge from Loïd to give him a claw that cut deep into his armor, causing blood to gush. Loïd screamed in pain and rage, his fire flickering.
Hakime tried to intervene, throwing a shield of light to block the next shot, but Loïd, seeing the shield, took it for an insult.
"I don't need your protection!" he roared, resuming his assault with renewed frenzy, ignoring his wound.
The fight lasted for long minutes, seeming like an eternity. Loïd, wounded and spending his ether without counting, began to weaken. His fire was losing its intensity, his movements were getting heavier. King Goblin, though marked by numerous burns and cuts, held his regeneration and shell keeping him alive.
Hakime, seeing the situation become critical, realized that he had to act alone. Loïd was too stubborn to accept help. As a new attack by Loïd forced the king to lift his claws to ward off, Hakime saw his opening.
He concentrated, drawing on his last reserves of ether. He didn't have the raw power of Loïd, but he had the precision. He activated his Aegis of Light again, feeling the armor of light strengthen his limbs. He ignored Loïd, ignored the king's grunts, and focused on a single point: a crack in the monster's shell, just above his heart, which he had patiently enlarged with his rays.
With a cry of determination, he leaped. He didn't aim with his spear. He projected it like a javelin, channeling a thin, intense ray of light along the blade. The spear, guided by light and propelled by the full force of its body, flew straight towards the crack.
King Goblin, busy pushing back Loïd, saw the movement too late. He tried to turn, but the spear was already there. The crystal tip and the ray of light penetrated the crack, passing through the flesh and bones, only to stick deep into the monster's heart.
The king stopped short. A grunt of disbelief and pain escaped him. He looked at the spear protruding from his chest, and then his gaze turned to Hakime, who had fallen back to his knees, exhausted, his Aegis of Light fading away.
Then, slowly, King Goblin of Laziness collapsed. The rumble of his fall made the ridge tremble.
A dead silence ensued, broken only by the breathless breath of Loïd, who looked stunned at the monster's body, then Hakime.
The thick haze that emanated from the king immediately began to dissipate. Below, the remaining monsters, deprived of the will that ruled them, stopped short. Their eyes lost their intelligent glow, and a sense of confusion replaced their frenzy. Some began to disperse, returning to their normal erratic state. Others, disoriented, were quickly shot dead by the students who resumed the offensive.
The battle was won.
Loïd stood motionless for a long time, staring at Hakime, his fiery sword still standing. Shame, anger and reluctant respect were fighting on his face. He had failed to defeat the boss alone. It was the orphan he despised who had delivered the coup de grace.
Without a word, he finally lowered his sword, the fire going out. He turned his heels and began to descend the slope, leaving Hakime alone on the ridge, kneeling in front of the body of the monster he had just killed.
The victory was bitter. They had survived, but the gap between their strength and Loïd's pride had almost lost them. As the first rays of the sun pierced the horizon, dispelling the last mists, Hakime felt the weight of this solitary victory. The road to peace between them would be long, if it ever existed.