Book 9, Chapter 6
Two-Man War(2)
Apeiron already seemed to be walking on the edge of death; RIchard would kill her with one strike, but half a dozen full-powered attacks had failed to take him down. She had to acknowledge him as a frightening threat, only tempered by the fact that he wasn’t completely there yet. His body was already mangled, and despite each strike not hurting him too much they were stacking up. In her eyes, he already didn’t have any strength left to do battle. Once his speed started to dip, she would win easily.
Richard’s own gaze landed on his opponent’s arm. The originally awful wound had already healed a good deal, a purple cloud of chaotic energy bubbling up from the bones to nourish her flesh. This could be considered an advantage she had earned in the Outlands, where her body was forced to recover in extremely short periods between battles. Even without any natural talent in the area, she had ended up outstanding.
However, he sneered and pointed to the sky, a rift opening in the void to bathe him in deep green light. Life force surged as his injuries healed at a visible rate, weeds forming in the bricks all around as the light fell on it.
Apeiron’s eyes narrowed, “Jadeite moonforce? No, not just that. Laws of life as well, at a foundational level.”
“A small gift from the laws,” Richard smiled, “I’m sure yours don’t treat you the same.”
“Let’s see how many times you can recover!” she snorted loudly, punching with both hands. Rich purple energy sprung forth from her body, looking like flames that enveloped within. This light seemed almost corporeal, distorting everything in its field to the realm of chaos.
Richard blinked away, picking up the divine sword as he rushed towards Apeiron. His own body started radiating the crimson energy of Midren’s order. Neither side controlled themselves properly. The blood flames collided with the purple light, and order and chaos imploded upon each other. All the energy collapsed into a small black point.
It was a black hole!
Huge gales immediately sprang up in the hall, furniture starting to rattle as it was lifted into the sky. Even the walls and ceiling distorted, the entire palace on the verge of collapse. Thankfully Richard and Apeiron came to a mutual understanding, shooting out their powers once more to destroy the existential threat before returning to their battle. One of them had reached the limits of speed, and the other wasn’t far off; any other legend would have failed to contain this in time.
A formless shockwave burst through the hall, disintegrating everything it touched. Richard and Apeiron appeared on opposite ends, crimson and purple each covering half the hall to defend it from this energy. Everything else in the vicinity quickly collapsed, leaving only this one building standing.
The two could protect their battlefield, but not the rest of the palace. Glancing at each other, they restrained their attacks to a level that Norland could withstand before beginning anew.
With their power suppressed, the two now competed in martial arts. Apeiron had reached a peak in combat long ago, but she was surprised to find that Richard was no worse. Decades of constant analysis of the Church’s combat had borne fruit; even if he still had a ways to go for full analysis, he was already amongst the best of Norland. He modified his style to grow more erratic; one moment he was fighting up close and personal, and the next he was swinging his sword wide. He was fine even if she knocked into him a few times, but a single stab from his blade would kill her.
When the two separated again, Richard was soaked in blood, small and large injuries riddling his body. He hadn’t struck Apeiron even once, but her face had no joy to be seen. She stared blankly as more green light shot down from the sky, healing his injuries in an instant. Even her icy will started to waver.
Richard’s recovery ability was just far too powerful, comparable to the best arts of a legendary priest. Added onto his already insane regeneration and bodily strength, he was basically invincible unless one could kill him in a single strike. This was a peak much like her own; while she focused on offensive dominance, he was looking at endurance instead.
“That’s two,” she coldly exclaimed, diving back into battle. Her figure vanished as he struck her, fingernails digging a trough into his chest. When Richard waved to counter, she had disappeared again.
The two turned into fuzzy shadows as they fought, slowly transitioning into the void. Apeiron had used this method to try and avoid Richard, but he had followed her instantly and given chase. A smile sprang up on his face; now, he didn’t need to worry about destroying anything.
…
*BOOM!* A loud screech rang out as a purple figure shot back into Norland, crimson following hot on her heels. Richard and Apeiron continued their relentless fight, his attacks growing stronger and stronger with time. He even started giving up on defence entirely at times, taking chances to brush against her if he could.
Apeiron’s energy started to flag, her actions growing more sluggish as time dragged on. Richard was also using the power of laws to disturb and suppress her, a process he was growing more adept at by the minute. By the time she realised that he could control more than ten different systems, the environment had already turned upon her.
Richard restored himself once more, beginning another wave of attacks. The two figures constantly flickered in and out, now fighting in both reality and the void. The entire royal island was shaking constantly, showing signs of collapse. The staff had already started to flee in shock, but many were still killed in the fallout as the Rainbow of the Moons barely managed to keep the island isolated.
At this point, neither side held back. Apeiron’s eyes had been flooded entirely purple, and countless divine symbols floated across Richard’s skin. The three divine languages were combined on his body as his bloodlust grew more coordinated, the insanity of the Archeron bloodline slowly taking hold. He was starting to fight more and more like a true abyssal, taking hits just to do even the slightest bit of damage to the opponent.
As Richard and Apeiron neared exhaustion, their power soon started to plummet. However, they continued their relentless fight, now working off instinct more than anything else. Richard eventually managed to grab her in a bear hug, a feeble red light flashing through his hands. Only one of his Lifesbanes activated, sending destructive energy right into her body.
The Empress went rigid, agony filling her face before being replaced by mad fury. She turned around and opened her mouth wide, spitting a violet ball right into his face! Richard screamed like a wild beast, losing the ability to fly as he crashed into the ground. Apeiron was dragged down with him, acting as his cushion.
In the end, his stronger body won out. He flipped the Empress over and pinned her into the ground, one hand holding her neck while the other made sure she couldn’t move her’s.
“You’ve… lost…” he gritted out, eyes occasionally flashing purple. Pure chaos was currently wreaking havoc within his body, threatening to take over his last dregs of sanity.
“So what? Kill me if you want, I should have died a decade ago.”
“Why… Did… You… Send… The… Stonelord… To… Master…” he grunted, the purple filling his eyes further.
“Isn’t it simple? I want her dead.”
“YOU!” he seethed with fury, strengthening his grip.
Apeiron’s neck started to crack under the force, and she closed her eyes in wait of death.
However, his grip suddenly loosened, “LIE!”