2795 A Trick of Two (Part 1)
The hoofed feet of the Vagrash turned into taloned toes and the tail was detached from the body, turning into a proper blade.
"I'm just like you, wearing a corpse coated with metal. I don't need organs to survive." The Void answered the Dullahan's silent question as his lipless maw formed a smile. "But wait. There's more."
Black chains burst out from the Spirit Crystal on his chest but instead of providing the Demons with power or conjuring more, the chains struck at the undead. The Dullahan and the others froze for a second in surprise but when nothing happened, they resumed the offensive.
The Void has bought me enough time to shrug off the effects of the Banshee's scream but I'm still fucked,' Solus unleashed one of the tier five spells she had at the ready just for the undead to counter it with their own.
Darkness countered darkness while the Mage Slayer fed on the remaining element, becoming even stronger. Solus' core was weaker than the undead's, her body was slower, and they were two against one.
To make matters worse, only a blade master could turn into a Mage Slayer.
Zamor had honed his skills through the centuries whereas she was a novice. Solus had regained her human body for less than one year and she liked to spend her free time experiencing life, not training.
If only I could use body casting to weave spells above tier three, this would go much differently!" Her body was strong and one hit of the Fury would have been enough to kill any undead, but they were both meaningless if she missed her target.
The Mage Slayer failed to find an opening in Solus' Voidwalker armor so he played it smart. He used his superior technique to wrap his blade around the hammer and keep it at a safe distance, using those movements to cast spells.
Whenever his blade and the hammer touched, he released a bolt of lightning that froze the Golden Knight long enough for the Banshee to strike. If the lunge managed to pass through her guard, he released a focused pulse of darkness magic.
Solus could counter it with the Spirit Barrier of her armor, but even then, some of the darkness would slip past it and attack her body. Due to the darkness' element ethereal body. Due to the darkness' element ethereal nature, only a dense mass of energy or matter could stop its advance.
I can't keep the barrier always active or the armor will run out of power. Same if I make it too thick. Solus cursed as Jima unleashed another of her screams at the same time when Zoma's blade sent a bolt of lightning through her arm.
"If I get it by the Shattered Soul, I'll be a fish in a barrel.' Her only option was to activate the Spirit Barrier again, blocking the scream and pushing the Mage Slayer away.
The problem was that the move bought her time, but she was still surrounded. The two undead just kept at the fringes of the emerald ward and bombarded it respectively with darkness magic and a flurry of attacks that conjured as many spells.
Zontak the Dullahan had no idea what purpose the black chain connecting him to the Void had yet it didn't seem to matter. The two had been going at it for a couple of seconds, their blades and limbs hitting each other without a care in the world.n/-/(((-)----1-.n
The Dullahan was heavily armored, especially his head since it was his weak point. The helmet alone was comprised of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of Adamant but it was as light as a (22 pounds) of Adamant but it was as light as a feather to the elder undead's blood core.
His sword was also much heavier than a regular weapon and filled with enchantments. The Golem/Void, instead, was stark naked, covered only in the layer of Adamant that coated the body of the dead Vagrash.
The same held true for the tailblade, yet the creature seemed not to mind the exchange of blows that it was clearly losing.
I expected more from such a conceited being Zontak thought. 'Sure, my body can't cast magic anymore but that thing is leaving my head alone, giving me all the time I need. I may be severed from my body in the flesh, but we are still as one.
Despite the clear flaws of Lith's Golem and of the alleged intelligence possessing it, the Dullahan was impressed. Raptor could fight against an elder undead on equal footing despite the clear gap in experience and equipment.
The construct was unbelievably fast and strong, using sheer physical might to make up for what it lacked in skill. On top of that, the physical fight happened at an incredible pace, much faster than any mouth could move.
Zontak had no way to body cast. Only Awakened and Mage Slayers undead could do that. He had to give up on high tiered spells and focus on quick tier three spells or the fight would be over before his head cast even a single one.
The first was a bolt of lightning which coursed through Raptor's metal body and was grounded into the floor without dealing any damage. The second was a blast of darkness magic, neutralized by a spark of the black eye.
"Gods, you're so cute." The Void smiled at the Dullahan like at a dumb kid. "You just wasted your spells. I can't have seizures and you just ran out of time. It's my turn now."
Zontak ignored the taunt and resumed his attack. Much to his surprise, the Void ignored his feints and moved straight for the kill. The Dullahan immediately adjusted his strategy but the golem anticipated every technique, breezing through them.
The Void parried the blade with his own, extending the muscle joints of the Vagrash's tail to wrap it around the enemy weapon up to the arm, locking them in a deadly embrace.
The black eye lit up, conjuring a constant flow of darkness element that flowed from Raptor's arm into Zontak's. The Void used his free hand to hammer at the undead with a flurry of fists carrving the full weight of the half a ton heavy carrying the full weight of the half a ton heavy Vagrash.
'How? Just how?' The Dullahan wasn't a brawler, but in his centuries of life, he had fought empty-handed more often than most professional fighters their entire career.
Yet the Golem deflected his blows with minimal effort, managing to land every single strike of its own as if Zontak wasn't even trying to defend himself. The Void also seemed to know the equipment of the Dullahan inside out.
He avoided the offensive enchantments and threw a feint to trigger the defensive systems just to deliver the real blow the moment they started to fade. The enchantments of the golem, instead, always reached a weak spot, unleashing the full extent of their power.
'Shit, shit, shit!' Zontak went into a panic when he finally realized what he had overlooked. 2 The Golem wouldn't tire, wouldn't relent, and each one of its blows would be as strong as the first until its power ran out. Yet the real threat was the darkness magic that was moving from the Dullahan's arm to his core.