The silver spear hit nothing but air.
Corvin was already speeding up before it landed, his feet finding purchase on the scorched earth as he closed the distance between him and the figure in the firelight with everything he had. Cathal, with his hand reaching for his short spear, could see the blur of his opponent reaching down, the cutting wind growing ever louder around him.
Corvin too was unsheathing the curved sword by his hip.
The figure stumbled, caught itself, and turned. In the firelight it looked like a drunkard— the weight slightly wrong in the legs, one hand pressed to the unburned side of his face — but Corvin had watched Oswald move in courtly halls and training grounds for the better part of a decade, so he wasn't fooled. drunk or sober, the man's mind was as still as sharp as a blade and he knew not to underestimate him even slightly.
"OSWALD!"
"What have you done, you rot of a man?!"
When he was informed that he and Cathal suddenly had an important matter to deal with, he hadn't expected it to be him.
"BRING IT ON, YOU GAIUS' DOGS!"
He covered the last twenty meters in a breath and swung for the wrist.
He definitely could've gone for the neck, considering the opening created by Oswald's sloppy stance, but even if he ignored the fact that his opponent would easily be able to dodge the attack, there were other reasons too.
First was the fact that, in the hands of an ascended, any weapon, even a simple staff was a deadly tool, much less in the possesion of someone like Oswald who was a combat genius comparable to or perhaps even greater than Gaius himself. In such a situation, it was better to first try and disarm the opponent first.
The second reason was that despite the fact that he wanted nothing more than to tear this bastard limb by limb, even accidently ending Oswald's life would immediately brand him as a Traitor of Casamir by the Crown's magical reign, imprisoning him in place. No one knew what would happen afterwards, but it was likely that death would follow soon.
As his blade moved at speed fast enough to leave after images, Oswald's grip on the metal staff suddenly tightened. In the next instant, his hands moved and the iron staff that would've easily been cut in two by the transcendent sword seemingly wrapped around it like snake. Then, with a simple flick, the blade was propelled upward while still within the wielder's grasp, leaving Corvin wide open.
Immediately following up on this openinig, Oswald shifted his grip and used the other end of the stick to strike for the head.
Corvin did not panic. As if already having expected this, his body moved, knees bending and body arching backward as he let the inertia of his initial charge carry his body forward. The staff passed overhead, missing his face by just a hair's breath.
Just as he was preparing to pivot on his heel to attack from behind, he saw the posture of Oswald change slightly, his shoulders drooping and head turning slightly. In the next second, the staff in his hand moved like it had a life if its own. It seemed to spin and wrap around and over his shoulders and neck, instantly appearing in his other hand. Oswald's body spun as he immediately used the momentum of the spin to perform a downward slash directly towards Corvin's head.
Corvin's vision was suddenly engulfed by the staff that sped towards him at dangerous speed. For a second, he felt like death was approaching. In such a fight, falling unconscious for even a few seconds could mean the death of both him and Cathal.
By that time, Cathal had already appeared near where his spear was embedded into the ground. Without any hesitation, he planted his foot on the Schorced earth, twisted his body and threw the short spear at Oswald with all his might. This forced Oswald to retreat from his counterattack against Corvin, focusing instead on deflecting the projectile coming his way and saving Corvin from immediate doom.
With a sharp metallic clink, the short spear was thrown skywards, rising high up into the air as its metal blade shined softly under the illumination of the blazing inferno below.
Cathal did not stop with that simple throw. Finally grabbing his long spear, he charged toward the rampaging prince headfirst, spear in front.
The 15 meter distance between then was covered in a heartbeat as Cathal appear right before him.
Ignoring the still recovering swordsman beside him, Oswald shifted his stance so as to brace for the upcoming charge.
By then, Corvin had already somewhat recovered. He pivoted over his right foot and appeared behind Oswald. Shifting from a double-handed to a single-handed grip, he swung in a downward sweep towards his heels, planning to assist Cathal by messing up Oswald's footing right before the impact.
But of course, Oswald was not a combat genius for nothing. Instead of jumping into the air to avoid the blade — which would leave him without a support against the charge from ahead — he planted his left foot to the side, and lifted the other one slightly. Then, with a tremendous force, stomped down and pinned the blade to the ground.
Up ahead, he deflected the thrust by Cathal with the staff. At the same time, he kicked the still pinned and kneeling Corvin at the side of the head, sending him flying into the burning barnhouse and crashing into one of the pillar supporting structure, pulverizing it into broken splinters. The entire barnhouse groaned menacingly for a second before subsiding, the figure of the injured Corvin engulfed by a wave of crackling sparks.
Oswald took a short step forward. He passed around the length of the spear's shaft, with the staff already spinning in his grip. Instead of directly attacking for the head or the chest, he moved even closer than before. His staff moved over and hooked behind Cathal's neck. Then, with a simple thug, pulled him behind.
This tactic definitely would've worked wonders on Corvin, but Cathal was different. His main weapon was a spear after all, and a spear and a quarter staff were similar in many ways. Not only that, he was also much experienced than Oswald at using the spear and knew most of the ins and outs when dealing with something similar.
Not hesitating for even a second, Cathal stepped in closer instead of bracing for the incoming tug. His armoured hand left the shaft on his spear and instead wrapped around Oswald's own staff. Now, with a tug of his own, he was the one face to face with the prince.
The silver gauntlet suddenly reflected the firelight behind, blinding Oswald for a short second. When he finally opened his eyes though, all he say was the fast approaching —
BAM!
The two foreheads collided, causing a small ripple to spread along the short dancing flames around them. The impact left Oswald disoriented as he reeled back unsteadily. His ears rang sharply as he groaned while covering the side of his head.
After another second, he recovered from the state and looked down. The first thing he noticed was that his hands were empty, no longer holding the metal staff.
The second, was the grinning face of Cathal as he spun the same staff in his hands with an almost practised ease.
A quarter staff, when used as a weapon, was especially effective when dealing with more than one opponent because of both it's range and versatility. Because of that, the outcome of their battle had been increasingly precarious.
Now though, with Oswald disarmed, the odds had practically evened out, with a very high likelihood of Corvin and him clenching victory.
Cathal threw the staff in his hand far away, beyond the reach of their fight. Adjusting the grip on his spear, he moved forward at high speed, his figure blending in with the rolling clouds and smoke, ash and burning embers around them.
Watching the approaching silhouette of his opponent, Oswald suddenly burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. He took a step forward, and his figure suddenly disappeared, arriving right infront of Cathal before engaging in a fierce clash.
The mayhem from the savage battle left the surroundings completely ruined. Countless craters marred the scorched earth as plums of smoke were sometimes parted by a strange gust of wind, only to reveal absolutely nothing. Admist the chaos, the body of the dead father and son were tossed around, the former into the burning structure and the latter away from the battle and the infernal wreckage and near the river a few dozen meters away.
Inside the burning barnhouse and among the swirling smoke, broken rubble and burning hay ,Cathal let out a hoarse groan as vision and the sense of surroundings finally returned to him.
The first thing that came back was the heat. It pressed against every exposed inch of skin like an open palm, the air itself felt hot and thick, tasting of ash and char, each breath pulling something heavy into the lungs. A cough escaped his mouth as soon as he tried to straighten his body.
Then the pain came back. His head rang like a struck bell, a deep oscillating pressure behind his eyes that pulsed in time with his heartbeat. The side of his face where Oswald's boot had connected felt wrong, swollen already and tight across the jaw. The wind had been knocked out of him for a good dozen second at the moment of the crash, but he had already recovered. He tried to move but his body ached all over again.
He moved anyway.
Splinters of the support pillar lay scattered around him, some still burning at the edges, small contained flames that licked upward and found nothing worth taking. Above, the ceiling groaned. A beam shifted somewhere deep in the structure and a cascade of embers drifted down like orange snow.
He blinked the blur from his eyes and looked around. Up ahead, Corvin had already disarmed Oswald and was already pushing an advantage over him.
He pushed himself up onto one knee and pulled out the sword from the debri around him.
Back to the battle outside, Cathal suddenly disengages from the close quarter battle forced upon him by Oswald. He took a step back and created distance between them, even as his opponent tried to stop him. Then, without a second thought, rammed the tip of his spear into Oswald's abdomen.
Although Oswald somehow managed to catch the blade of the spear, his drunkard body finally seemed to betray him as he lost his footing almost immediately. Seizing the opportunity, Cathal pushed forward with all his might, dragging both himself and Oswald into the burning hell behind them, their forms engulfed by the billowing plums of smoke.
Inside, the heat was a physical thing, pressing against their face and arms and chest. The smoke was low — lower than outside, which made no sense and then made sense, the layout of the house funneling it toward the eastern breach.
The main structure was still standing, mostly, though the fire had found the roof and was working its way down the eastern wall with methodical patience. The windows on the ground floor threw light and smoke in equal measure. Cathal could see the the supporting pillars dark and beginning to catch, the ceiling beams dark with heat, and the far wall already open to the night where the fire had eaten through.
As soon as they entered, Oswald immediately tried to pull at the spear's shaft in an attempt to force Cathal into close combat once again. But his opponent was no fool and the same trick would not work twice. Cathal's boot immediately connected with Oswald's abdomen the instant he tried to close the distance, sending him crashing into one of the support beam. Long cracks appeared on its length as the entire barnhouse began to tremble slightly.
Cathal did not wait a second. The spear in his grip spun and he immediately thurst its back end into the place where Oswald was. But the attack did not meet flesh, only hard wood. Oswald had already side stepped the attack with a smooth motion. Instead of attacking forward though, he turned on his heel and spun around and behind the pillar. At the same time, he used his hand to slash at pillar, sending a cloud of debri and splinter at the plum of ash and smoke right in front of him.
In that instant, the outline of a man had appeared within the cloud of rising and swirling smoke. This is figure was obviously Corvin, who had wanted to flank and ambush Oswald from behind, under the cover of the sense smoke.
As soon as he saw the cloud of splinters coming his way to blind him, he ducked his head low, moving below it to dodge. Immediately following up on that, he used the opening created by Oswald's previous action and drove an elbow back into his solar plexus.
The air left Oswald in a single compressed hiss as he was sent stumbling backward with his lungs refusing to cooperate. Corvin did not stop his assault with a single strike. Taking a single step to the side, he rammed his shoulder into Oswald, sending him crashing into the pillar once again.
Cathal in turn, did not waste this opportunity as he quickly used the middle shaft of his spear to pin Oswald completely. The curved blade in Corvin's grip also rotated, the blunt spine of the blade coming to the front as he moved to the right, ready to immediately knock out the rampaging ascended in a single strike.
Just then, the entire building shuddered violently, groaning louder and longer than ever before.
All of them looked up at the swaying roof in unison, their eyes trembling slightly.
But as Corvin lowered his head to look down, his eyes caught Oswald's face. At some point in time, a crazed, manical smile had appeared on his scarred face. His heart shuddered in that Instant, and before he could do anything, Oswald's head moved down and meet Cathal's own in a violent headbutt, sending him staggering back.
Corvin prepared to scream and lunge forward, but Oswald was much faster. He took a step forward, and then rammed his back into the pillar behind him with all the might he could muster. The old and half-burnt beam splintered into a millions pieces, and for a short second, the world seemed to freeze.
And then it came.
The sound when it came was simply enormous — a deep structural crack that traveled from somewhere above and behind them, a single beat of total noise, and then the eastern wall gave and the ceiling came with it. The world became heat, weight and total dark as being buried under burning things.
He did not lose consciousness. He was aware that he was in the rubble. He also knew that Cathal was somewhere close because he could hear him moving. The fire was present in his peripheral vision but not immediately on him. The beam across his back was heavy. Not crushing, but heavy. He got his hands under himself and pushed. The beam shifted but didn't move and he pushed again.
It moved.
He got an arm free, then a shoulder, then dragged himself sideways through the debris until there was open air above him and he could see the smoke-dark sky again.
Cathal emerged three seconds later from a different section of the rubble, face black with ash.
Neither of them was badly hurt. That was the first coherent thing Corvin established once the ringing in his ears had settled to a manageable register.
He stood in the burning wreckage of the farmhouse and looked at the empty darkness beyond it, the fields stretching out silent and orange-lit in every direction.
The second thing he established was that the hooded figure of Oswald was already moving across the silent fields, almost a kilometre of distance between them. Even after their entire clash, the robe still looked undamaged, like what it had at the very start.
He stepped forward to give chase, his blade already glinting in the blazing flames. Just then, a sound resounded within his head, as if coming from the depths of his mind.
[Guys, how's the situation out there?]
Corvin didn't stop his pursuit, already accustomed to the voice that often whispered into his mind. Behind him, Cathal was already running as well. He answered in his mind.
>[It's Oswald. He's going on a rampage after what happened at the court. There are already two casualties. Just to be sure, send someone to his room to check if he's really gone.]
There was a sigh from behind and the voice in his head answered strained tone. [Got it. More importantly, I had another thing to inform you guys. Um... There is an emergency. A Fallen monster somehow breached the wall and his heading towards one of the populated centres in the outskirts. It's class is unknown for now, so we would very much appreciate if you could help us out.]
Corvin frowned, his eyes darkened slightly. A Fallen? Is it from the Corrupted Tyrant's hoarde? I thought they were still pretty far away.
>[I don't think it's possible for now. Why don't you send Renn's cohort instead? Even without an ascended, they're still strong enough to stall it. Also, ask our dear king what he wants us to do about his damn Uncle!]
There was a slight pause before the voice answered.
[Well, I already sent their cohort, but they are having trouble keeping up the monster's speed. As for king Eldrin, sigh... I'll arrange it as soon as possible. Hm... I just sent someone to check up on Oswald's room and she confirmed that it's empty. So no doubt that it's him.]
Hearing the first half of the message, Corvin couldn't help but gritt his teeth as his eyes only faintly reflected the silhouette of the Oswald that was slowly blending into the darkness.
***
About half an hour before the fateful battle between Gaius and his men. In a small forest located in the outskirts fields of Casamir.
Ashoka stood in the silent darkness, in front of the entrance leading to the outside wilderness. The heavy wooden trapdoor that had once concealed the underground tunnel lay open, and in the gloom it looked like the maw of a hungry beast.
He stared into ominous darkness in grim silence, his lips pursed into a thin line.
At some point after he had opened it, a thick, hot scent of burned charcoal and Frozen magma had began emanating from the exposed tunnel, slowly permeating into the surroundings.
Let's just hope I'm not accidentally courting death...
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[A/N: this chapter wasn't originally supposed to be mostly a fight, but as it turned out, despite all my fears, writing a fight scene was surprisingly fun, despite the time it took me!(some it was just procrastination tho🥀) Idk how it turned out though, so be sure to give me your thoughts. Anyways, i will try to make later chapters longer and cover more of the story, this might affect the schedule, but its already ass as it is so maybe not. This is all for now, so peace ✌]