Chương 1245: 1275 - The Duel Begins

The Great Dragon Clans, as a whole, were far from friendly to outsiders. The Great White Dragon Clan was, without doubt, the one most amenable to diplomatic relations with those from outside the Clan, but their successful persuasion of the other Clans to participate in the Belicenian Games had required stoking their inherent pride—a Great Dragon will attend a party or meeting or some other such gathering, but almost always their only goal would be to show off their power and magnificence.

When the Great Dragons returned to the stadium to watch Leon and Bennu's duel, they refused all invitations to other boxes—most of these were undoubtedly little more than expected lip-service, but Anushirawan's had been genuine, as had Miuna's, at least for the ladies among their group. Instead, they all but seized a private box, forcing Anushirawan to compensate the former occupants. Dragons, after all, refused to share…

"This is hardly a place worthy of dragons," Karina exclaimed, the red scales framing her face seeming to glimmer from the heat of her declaration.

"We should've seized someplace higher!"

"Any higher, my vermilion sister," Jennifyr responded, "and it will be the clouds and birds that we see, not those fighting down below."

"The birds would make for a more engaging show," whispered the true star of the box, though she didn't yet know it; Serana sat next to Jennifyr and seemed as disinterested in the duel as she could possibly be. Jennifyr hadn't yet told her what had truly happened, as she wasn't sure that Fargrim would allow her to come if he knew. Instead, the invitations sent out to the remainder of her brother Clans focused on Bennu, leaving Leon out entirely.

There hadn't yet been a good opportunity to tell Serana about what she had to expect, though Jennifyr had been tempted to try. Regardless, she was going to learn soon enough…

"Bennu seeks to display his strength," Prasinos said as he and his son, Ryonos, approached the projection on the front of the box; they could see out, but all anyone would see if they tried to look into the box was the gleaming stone it was made of.

"I say we let him. If the Phoenix believes he is worthy of the hand of a dragon, let alone that of my dear niece Serana, then I see no issue with letting him prove it."

"Indeed…" Fargrim whispered as he joined Prasinos at the projection, though Jennifyr noted that it was her radiant uncle who seemed more invested in the duel than her everdark one. Behind her, she heard Nyra whisper to Ryker, "Do you know what's happening?!"

"Yes," he replied, not bothering to whisper as Nyra had.

"I'm interested in seeing the outcome. It'll prove… enlightening …" Jennifyr spared her everdark brother a searching glance over her shoulder and found Ryker staring back at her, his golden eyes shining with pride.

'Did he… do something?' she wondered.

"Ah!" Merenni, Matriarch of the Great Green Dragons, exclaimed.

"It's beginning!" Indeed, Anushirawan had just announced the duel to the gargantuan crowd filling the stadium, and the noise and force of millions of Lords and their many, many retainers shook the stadium, even reinforced as it was for bouts just like this one. Far below, doors opened, allowing the combatants to take to the stadium's sandy floor, which had mere minutes ago been taken up by an intricate light show.

As the two duelists walked out into the stadium, the miles that separated them no obstacle to mages of their power. Karina's father and Patriarch of the Great Red Dragons, Kallon, remarked, "Bennu is fighting a mage of the twelfth-tier? I had thought the Phoenixes more honorable than that; challenging someone of a lower tier is shameful."

"By Bennu's account," Tiir, Patriarch of the Great Gray Dragons, said, "the other insulted our everdark niece. Where does honor end with this variable?" Serana strangled off a groan and seemed to disappear into the dark formal robes her father had insisted she wear, seeming to refuse to pay attention to the duel on principle.

'I might have to do something about that…' Jennifyr noted, not wanting her everdark sister to miss the most important part.

"That Storm Lord has apparently defeated multiple thirteenth-tier mages," the gravelly voice of Jennifyr's father, Ouros, noted.

"But… what else do we know of him?" Ianu, eldest Prince of the Great Gray Dragons, stated, "We're about to find out. When blades cross, we see the truth."

"That we do…" Prasinos said as he shot a look back at Jennifyr and Varon. Jennifyr nodded back to him. The duel was about to begin, and now all they had to do was wait…

Two hours had been enough to severely blunt Leon's anger and humiliation after having been so publicly challenged. It was enough that when he strode out onto the sands of the vast stadium, a space so expansive that entire cities could be packed into it with little difficulty, it was the enormous social and magical pressure of being before the greatest concentration of mages and magical power in the entire universe.

Easily half, if not more, of all the Lords in the Nexus were present, as were their powerful subordinates. Just their attention focusing upon him was heavier than an entire mountain range. Leon held his head high, however, not letting it bow the tiniest amount despite feeling like all of Aeterna had settled upon his shoulders. Walking would take some time, so he lifted off a bit to reach Anushirawan quickly, who awaited both him and Bennu in the center of the stadium.

Bennu, he saw, took a more leisurely, though still quick, pace, seemingly enjoying the attention far more than Leon thought himself capable of. Though this was but a duel, Leon had come dressed for war, armoring himself in the Adamant armor that he had painstakingly designed and forged with his own hands. Iron Pride was sheathed at his waist, and his Stormborn bow rested close at hand in his soul realm, ready to be summoned at a moment's notice.

Spells and bombs, too, he held ready, to both ravage Bennu and defend himself from whatever the Phoenix heir had in store for him. When Leon landed beside Anushirawan at the center of the stadium, his heart was beating like a war drum, forcing blood through his body so quickly that he could hardly speak from the blood in his neck pounding against its constraints.

"Are you ready, Leon?" Anushirawan asked with a good-natured smile on his face.

"Yes," Leon replied as he centered himself. His father had striven to instill in him a comfort with death and violence that he felt was necessary—in his two and a half centuries of life, Leon valued few lessons higher. Artorias had taught him to never kill needlessly, but to never be afraid of doing what had to be done. Those lessons, taught so long ago, grounded him, focused him, helped him to ignore the millions and millions of eyes watching him, and the invisible storm of auras raging through the stadium.

"I hope you are," Anushirawan replied.

"Though you can rest assured that I will not allow you to die today." The Sun King smiled and leaned over a little closer, lowering his voice to whisper conspiratorially.

"And if you have anything up your sleeve, as you did when you fought Mikaela, know that I will not allow you to kill Bennu, either." His tone indicated that he didn't think Leon had much of a chance, but he felt the words had to be spoken anyway, so he dressed them up a bit in an amiable wrapping. Stolen story; please report. Leon didn't verbally respond, his golden eyes hidden behind his face-concealing helmet locking onto the advancing form of Bennu.

The Phoenix soon arrived, drifting out of the air more lazily than Leon had. Like Leon, he was clad in Adamant, though his appeared far more focused on presentation than meaningful defense. A cuirass with embossed feather patterns was complemented by bracers similarly embossed, but with fire patterns. Greaves, scaled like the legs of an eagle, protected his shins, while under one arm was a full-faced helmet with a thin slit for his eyes.

All the Adamant was fire-red in color, and when it caught the light, seemed to glow a warm gold, matching the plume of feathers that decorated the top of the Phoenix heir's helmet. Leon's experienced eye washed over Bennu, finding the lack of armor protecting him from knee to hip, elbow to shoulder, and collarbone to jaw one of the most arrogant things any enemy of his had ever done.

That in mind, he could also sense a tremendous amount of magic coming from the armor, so he assumed that these massive gaps were covered by enchantments even if not by metal.

"Bennu-of-the-Flaming-Wind!" Anushirawan called out.

"So nice of you to finally join us!"

"My victory is inevitable," Bennu declared.

"I can see your armor, Leon, and I know you are an experienced warrior. No true son of the Thunderbird Clan can be any less than formidable. To honor you and your storied lineage, I will bring all the powers I command to bear, and in such conflagration, you will fall. Upon your defeat, you will cease your pursuit of Princess Serana immediately. If this is done quickly and without fuss, then we may yet be friends. Such disagreements as these… can be irritating in the moment, but time heals all wounds."

"Those sound like terms to me," Anushirawan said as he turned his eyes back to Leon.

"What are yours?"

"I offer no terms," Leon stated, his anger coming back with the demand to stop trying to meet his mother.

"You… do not know what you're asking. Whatever you think about what I'm doing is clearly incorrect. Perhaps I will even explain it to you after this duel. But after your actions earlier, I can't let this slide."

"No terms?" Anushirawan inquired, focusing entirely on his role in this duel and apparently ignoring all else.

"You face a mage a tier greater than you, and one whose Clan is powerful and rich. You could ask for much, yet you ask for nothing?"

"Correct," Leon declared. Anushirawan and Bennu exchanged a look, and while the Sun King threw his head back and laughed, Bennu merely smirked.

"Many have underestimated the Phoenix Clan in the past. All such instances have been severely punished. Take care you do not follow such examples, Leon." Scoffing at the Phoenix's words, Leon said, "Win the fight before boasting." The Sun King interrupted their exchange by bringing his hands together in a clap that silenced the stadium.

"Your terms have been stated, now I present to the two of you the only rule that I will enforce, since you two have seemingly decided on bringing all of your weapons and armor to bear: both of you will survive this duel. I will have no deaths in this stadium today. My Games are not to be sullied by blood. Whatever powers you two show off, whatever strange artifacts and otherworldly weapons you wield, you are not allowed to kill your opponent. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Leon immediately replied.

"I'm glad that you're not restraining us too much," Bennu said with an arrogant grin, though all Leon heard was that the Phoenix heir didn't have much in the way of lethal options available to him.

"I agree with your term."

"That's what I wanted to hear," Anushirawan said.

"Your duel will commence on my word…" He began drifting into the sky, his trajectory suggesting that he was going to be following their duel closely instead of returning to his box. Leon understood that, as at his and Bennu's level, he'd have to stay close to ensure he could keep both of them alive in a worst-case scenario. As the Sun King began formally announcing their duel, Leon rolled his shoulders a few times and let his power fill him.

Silver-blue lightning, the power of his favored Ancestor, raced through his veins, and had any of his body been exposed, it might have even been visible beneath his skin. As the Sun King's words continued, Leon rested a hand on Iron Pride, while Bennu drew from his soul realm a halberd of exquisite quality. The polearm was about half again as long as Bennu was tall, the spike and ax head made of Adamant, while the haft looked like some kind of dark red bone, inscribed with thousands of tiny runic markings.

A deadly weapon, he could see, but he doubted it was a match for Iron Pride, especially with the Iron Needle encased within the handle. Above, his spiel done, Anushirawan spoke the word, "BEGIN!" Leon moved. Quick as lightning, he charged, Iron Pride sparking with the silver-blue magic of the Thunderbird. Bennu didn't so much as twitch. The Phoenix's armor pulsed with power, and Leon's blade was warded away as if an invisible shell protected Bennu.

A few bolts of lightning penetrated farther, however, so Leon maintained his momentum, throwing himself against this invisible barrier while channeling his power. Lightning exploded from his body, wrapping around the Phoenix. The power that turned back the malevolent influence of a Primal Devil on Arkhnavi cut through this invisible barrier but bent into Bennu's bracers.

Leon's magic struck the Adamant and vanished, absorbed, while Bennu stared back at him, his helmet still under his arm, a shit-eating grin on his face. Leon's mind raced with possibilities even as he swung Iron Pride again, to a similar result.

'Earth enchantment? Turns away metal?' Leon swung a third time, feeling the way that the barrier felt around his weapon. If Bennu was going to arrogantly stand there and let Leon test his defenses, then Leon was going to exploit that to the hilt.

'Definitely earth,' Leon thought. With a wave of his hand, obscured by a fourth swing of Iron Pride, he inscribed a rune in the air, one he'd used often in the past.

'Open', a simple concept whose simplicity demanded a clear idea and iron will to be effectively used. Leon knew exactly what he wanted: to penetrate this earth magic barrier and strike directly at Bennu. He imagined his blade doing just that, and the magic he'd parsed parting before it, and then impressed this image onto the rune. In a fifth swing, Leon felt the enchantment of Bennu's armor flex, then shatter as Iron Pride broke through.

Bennu's eyes widened in surprise as Leon's deadly weapon drove toward him, and he threw himself back while raising his off-hand, still holding his helmet, to block the strike. Blade bit flesh: Iron Pride sank into Bennu's elbow just above his bracer. Blood was drawn, and Leon's silver-blue lightning flashed across the Phoenix, burning all that it touched. A shout escaped Bennu's lips, and golden fire erupted from the wound, forcing Iron Pride out and banishing Leon's lightning.

A follow-up swing of Bennu's halberd summoned a wave of fire to separate them, but Leon pushed through. He knew fire well, and the magic he'd woven into his armor reflected that; he barely felt the hasty flames as they pressed against his armor, and he thrust again. Despite the fire almost obscuring each other from view, Bennu still detected Leon and turned to take the strike head-on. Iron Pride slammed into his cuirass and deflected off, though Bennu was thrown back several steps.

Refusing to give up the initiative, Leon pressed forward again, his lightning-enhanced body moving faster than Bennu's. He wanted to end the fight with overwhelming violence, and aimed accordingly; Iron Pride sped for Bennu's neck, the Adamant thirsting for blood like it had made a demonic contract. Adamant met Adamant as Bennu intercepted the strike with his halberd. Fire poured from Bennu's wound and, in an instant, formed into a thousand motes of fire.

Like fireflies, these motes launched themselves at Leon, detonating on impact with his armor. Leon could feel the heat and shuddered with each impact, but he stood firm, pushing against the Phoenix even as his power flowed from Iron Pride, bathing Bennu in the Thunderbird's lightning. Bennu's armor held up well, but Leon's 'open' rune was still active, and the enchantments still going couldn't stop every bolt.

Wounds accumulated, the Phoenix's exposed body growing darker and darker as lightning patterns burned into his skin. Suddenly, Bennu shouted as a ring appeared on the hand he held the halberd with. That ring was a simple gold band set with a large topaz. The topaz flashed and shattered, but a concussive blast of air hurled Leon back and broke their brief stalemate. His rune was likewise shattered as sand was thrown everywhere by the blast. Leon landed lightly despite having been thrown back nearly a quarter mile.

He was little worse for wear, the bruises that had started to form from the mote impacts already healing. The wounds he'd left on the arrogant Phoenix were far worse, but he was disappointed that Bennu had successfully managed to gain more space. That meant it would be much harder for him to reclaim and retain the initiative.

"A good start, Leon!" Bennu shouted as the sand cleared enough for Leon to physically see him.

"But hardly enough to bring down a Phoenix!" Bennu advanced as he spoke, his voice resonating from behind the helmet he now wore. The rest of his body, which had been quite severely burned before using the ring, had already healed, and now the head of his halberd and the fingers on his off-hand burned with bright gold fire.

"Now…" Bennu whispered, "we truly begin…"