Chương 114: Nikos Nervos

The golden light continued to pin Xarath against the ground, penetrating his body and burning him from the inside out. The sensation was horrific. Every fiber of his body seemed on the verge of disintegrating, while Faelira's energy continued to consume him without giving him a moment's respite. And yet, having lived for centuries, Xarath had developed an extremely high tolerance for pain over the course of his extraordinarily long existence.

He had suffered countless times and, above all, had learned not to let pain control his actions. With tremendous effort, he managed to move one arm. Then the other. Gritting his teeth, he barely raised his hand and opened a portal beneath himself. The opening formed with difficulty, trembling under the pressure of the golden spell, but it was enough. Xarath dragged himself out of the light and reappeared behind Faelira. He did not waste even a moment. A small, completely transparent flame shot from his hand.

At first glance, it seemed almost harmless, but the moment it came into contact with a living being, its body would explode into a thousand pieces. Faelira turned at the last possible instant. With a quick, almost feline movement, she leapt to the side, allowing the flame to pass by without touching her. Xarath decided to switch to close combat. The two of them charged at each other. They began fighting like martial artists, but comparing it to an ordinary human fight was almost ridiculous.

Their strength was so far beyond that of an ordinary being that a single punch would have been enough to pulp a skull, while a kick could have shattered bones as if they were dry branches. Xarath threw a straight punch at Faelira's face. She moved her head only slightly, avoiding the punch by a few centimeters, and immediately responded with a kick aimed at his side. Xarath managed to protect his liver with his arm and, in the same motion, pointed his palm at her stomach. A shockwave erupted at point-blank range.

Faelira reacted in time. A transparent barrier appeared in front of her body and blocked the attack, making the air around her tremble. Before Xarath could react, Faelira teleported behind him. She opened her hand and attempted to decapitate him with a single slash. Xarath ducked just in time. Faelira's hand passed over his head. Xarath immediately turned around and drove his elbow into her stomach. This time, Faelira failed to generate the barrier. The blow landed cleanly.

The mage's body was sent flying several meters, kicking up dust and small fragments of rock. Despite the impact, however, she managed to get back up almost immediately and regain her balance. Neither of them wasted any time. They resumed fighting. Punches. Kicks. Elbows. Knees. Headbutts. Shoves. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Every technique imaginable was used without hesitation. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

Every blow that landed sent rocks and clouds of the rocky sand typical of the Rocky Mountains into the air. The sound of their impacts echoed throughout the entire area, while the surrounding landscape was slowly devastated by their battle. For an ordinary observer, following their movements would have been almost impossible. For Xarath and Faelira, however, every movement was calculated.

After an exchange of blows that seemed to last an eternity, even though only a few minutes had actually passed, Faelira finally managed to gain the upper hand. She delivered a sharp kick beneath Xarath's chin. Xarath's head snapped backward and his body lost its balance, crashing heavily to the ground. Faelira did not even give him time to get back up. She generated a sphere of golden energy between her hands and hurled it at him. Xarath teleported to the side.

The sphere narrowly missed him and crashed into the ground, causing an explosion of light. Xarath remained motionless for a few seconds. Then he ran a hand over his mouth. When he looked at it, it was covered in blood. Faelira watched him from above.

"It's a good thing you don't have that strange ability of yours…" She took a few steps toward him.

"With that, you were practically untouchable. It seems the limiters have taken it away from you completely". Xarath did not respond. Faelira continued:"You've always been weaker than me in close combat. You may be the most talented mage to have ever existed, but that's a double-edged sword". Her gaze remained fixed on him.

"You never seriously trained. You've always been lazy because your powers did everything for you. You never needed to hone your body or your techniques when you could simply rely on your immense talent". She took another step.

"But now that you have the limiters, the fact that you never trained is finally showing all of its consequences. There will never be a better opportunity to kill you than this". Xarath slowly got back to his feet. Blood trickled from his mouth. He spat onto the ground and, without any particular haste, began regenerating. His crooked nose returned to its proper position. His broken jaw reformed. The teeth he had lost during the exchange of blows grew back one after another. Then he raised his eyes toward Faelira.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"And yet you're having trouble beating me despite the fact that I have limiters on". He wiped the remaining blood from his lips.

"Isn't that a little embarrassing?" Faelira clenched her teeth.

"Not when the opponent is you". Her expression became more serious.

"Beating you even under these conditions would still be an achievement". Xarath smiled faintly.

"An achievement for whom?" Faelira remained silent.

"No one will reward you for killing me. You won't have brought about any justice. You will have simply killed me". Xarath's smile widened slightly.

"And afterward? Life will remain empty and meaningless, just as it always has been". Faelira shook her head.

"Still with these speeches…you haven't changed at all". Her voice became colder.

"You know my view well. Only those who are good deserve to live. Those who bring destruction and suffering, like you, shouldn't even exist". She raised one hand.

"That's why it will be an achievement if I manage to kill you". Several golden laser beams shot from her fingertips. Xarath moved immediately. He dodged the first. Then the second. The third passed by him. The fourth grazed his shoulder. But the fifth struck him directly in the chest. A huge hole opened in his body. Incredibly, Xarath remained standing for a moment before dropping to his knees. His body immediately began regenerating. But he did not have time to complete the process.

Another pillar of golden light erupted from the ground and engulfed him from below. Xarath was completely swallowed by the energy. He spat blood. Meanwhile, Faelira began breathing irregularly. Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"I'm consuming too much energy…" She clenched her fists.

"He needs to hurry up and die". Elsewhere in the world, inside an elegant building, Morvath was standing alongside several other mages. In front of them stood an impeccably groomed man. He had neatly combed black hair, a thin, well-groomed mustache, and a relaxed posture, as though he were completely oblivious to any kind of danger. His name was Nikos Nervos. At that moment, he was playing chess. Morvath approached cautiously.

"Mr. Nervos, may I speak with you?" Nikos did not even look up from the chessboard.

"Go ahead, Mage Morvath".

"Thanks to your incredible intelligence, we managed to recover two legendary swords. As you know, however, there is still one left to take from that black-haired mage". Nikos moved a pawn.

"You think I don't know that?" He glanced at the chessboard for a moment.

"You paid me to find all the swords and that is exactly what I will do". Then he returned his attention to the game.

"Now, however, let me finish". He moved another piece.

"Checkmate in four moves. Scholar's Mate". The mage sitting across from him went pale.

"But…I saw a completely different future. You didn't make that move". Nikos smiled faintly.

"You can see the future a few minutes ahead, but you still haven't understood one fundamental thing". He raised his gaze.

"The future changes every moment". He pointed at the chessboard.

"I change my moves as I make them. That's why you've lost ten times in a row, despite your power". The mage remained silent.

"That's…incredible", he finally muttered. Nikos calmly rose from his chair.

"Bring me some tea, please". One of the mages nodded and hurried to obey. Nikos remained standing in front of the chessboard, studying the position of the pieces. Then his expression suddenly became serious.

"When I've finished drinking it…" He paused briefly.

"I'll help you find the remaining Legendary Swords".