Chapter 15

  A flood of dark-blue water rushes over the ground. The mounting wave reaches for Minot like a hand of the abyss trying to drag him under. Vasso swims inside this tide; a shark charging its prey. The sudden golden gleam doesn't stop him, in fact, he gets faster to strike before the glow becomes dangerous to him. A light matching the sun's power tries to illuminate the darkness of the storm.

  Vasso pounces, jumping out of the torrential wave with his sword aimed at Minot. His face shows the most amount of determination Vasso has seen the entire fight. It'll be an honor to slay a foe this capable. As the wave engulfs the man who is standing motionlessly Vasso dives at high speeds into the water, attempting to pierce Minot. The light is swallowed. Inside the water the Atlanteans thrive. No light, no sun, only the black abyss and its denizens.

  The golden light is blinding, yet Minot doesn't falter. He doesn't know what this light is, but for some reason he feels like he knows what to do. He sees the wave approaching, but there is no fear, no worry. Some object is floating in front of him, but he hardly registers it in his mind. He is barely thinking at all, he just moves.

  Minot lowers his club with purpose. The wave engulfs him and the object, but the golden light doesn't diminish. It resists the force of the torrent like a shield. It's as if the sun is protecting him. Despite the rushing water, the howling wind and the downpour of rain, there is calm. Peace and quiet. Still air. Minot inhales.

  With one upward swing of his club the wave is cut in two. Vasso, shock painted across his face, is exposed in the air, like a fish out of water. With another downwards strike Minot catches him mid dive and sends him straight into the ground. The impact matches an explosion. Golden sparks illuminate the area like a firework. For the first time in what must have been forever light has shone on the island again.

  The waves dissipate into ethereal mist and vanishes, leaving the ground no wetter than from the rain already.

  The spectators watch with their jaws dropped. After a short moment of stunned silence they cheer loudly for Minot. The wind is fighting to match their volume. Their spirits are at their highest after such a powerful blow. They just might escape the island alive. Among them Velophine is arguably the most shocked, but for a slightly different reason.

  "The artifact...", she mutters. "It still holds her power..." A tear runs down her face amidst the raindrops. "... I'm so glad." Her lips curl up slightly to form a smile of relief and happiness.

  The world around Minot is becoming visible again. The intense glow of the artifact has waned a bit. He looks down and sees the Atlantean face first in the dirt. Even though he knows he did that he can hardly believe it. Was it his own strength, or did the artifact do that? Speaking of it, he looks ahead and stares at the floating golden object.

  Before he can react it picks up speed. With surprising force the artifact attaches itself to Minot's chest. "What the-" He tries to remove it, but it is firmly attached. It doesn't hurt, but it feels weird. Like he is wearing armor on his skin.

  "Minot!", Velophine screams behind him. "The artifact has magic suppressing powers! Use it to fight off the Atlantean!" This is all happening too fast for him, but basically he is now stronger and has a real chance against Vasso. "I can't support you with spells because of that!" She has lowered her Nexus. "But you can do it!" Minot, full of confidence and supportive words, turns around to face his enemy.

  The Atlantean gets up. "I felt that one", he coughs. Bits of dirt fall off of him. "So that's where the Deity's power went." Minot looks at him confused; even after such a strike he can get up like this and talk. "Into the hands of humans. Adorable."

  "You been lookin' for this, sharktooth?", Minot taunts. "I got more where that came from!" Vasso honors him with no reply. He readies his blade for the next strike.

  Several clashes of weapons follow. But they feel different know. Velophine's support spells already helped, but whatever the artifact was doing eclipses that. He is blocking Vasso's strikes without issue. Each collision of weapons create more golden sparks and a flash of light contrasting with the abyssal dark-blue. And even if he gets hit, it doesn't wound him as much; merely surface-level scratches. Now it really feels like he is wearing armor, and just with this small artifact alone.

  The two fighters clash on equal grounds now, yelling war cries amidst the encroaching Storm. Minot glowing faintly and Vasso clad in a dark gloomy shimmer. He swings his club at his enemy, but he again evades. Minot doesn't let him and chases after him for a follow-up attack. Vasso replies with a watery blade. It gets parried by the golden magic of the artifact and Minot's swing.

  For a while, they fight in a stalemate. Iv worries that that weird artifact might not last and Minot will lose its power. Or get tired. Or get really hurt despite the magic. Or worse. She can't sit tight and watch. "Oi, Minot!", she yells using her hands as an amplifier, hoping her voice can cut through the noise and Minot's focus.

  "Ngh!" Minot blocks a strike and kicks Vasso away. "What?", he yells back.

  Iv exhales in relief. She gets serious and screams: "I got a plan! Keep fightin' that bonehead!" With that she hurriedly flies in direction of the temple.

  A sudden feeling of dread washes over her, worse than the rain striking from above. Vasso pivoted his attention from Minot to her and is approaching quickly. His blade dangerously cloaked in a dark glow and aimed at her. Iv's stomach drops. Her wings continue to slap the air as fast as they can to get her out of Vasso's trajectory. But he is too fast.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Her mind goes blank.

  A massive gust of wind blows over the island and almost knocks Iv over. She yelps. Minot jumped in front of the Atlantean to stop his dash. He swung his club square across Vasso's body and halted all his movement. The collision was like hitting a brick wall and so strong, the gust cancelled out the Storm's wind and stopped the rain for a few seconds.

  "Eyes on me, dipshit!", Minot barks, his chest glowing brighter. Vasso groans in pain, swings his sword and jumps away. Minot blocks the strike and covers for Iv. "Make it quick, Iv!"

  "Aye!"

  The fight continues. Blades of water fly through the air. Minot blocks them all. They are too fast to dodge. Also they are sharp enough to cut stone, so to protect whoever is behind him he has to catch them. The artifact's power indeed does nullify Vasso's magical attacks. In many ways the object seems to be the antithesis to the Atlantean's very being. Light and Darkness, Fire and Water, Defense and Offense.

  A strong blow propels Vasso several meters away. He rams his sword into the ground and after seconds of cutting through dirt paths and stone tiles he comes to a screeching halt. Vasso switches his hand position on the hilt and charges at Minot. The sword remains inside the ground; he cuts a new scar into the island as he runs. Watery magic spurts out of the cutting edge and fills the crevice. Once in range and with a guttural shout Vasso swings his sword, releasing all his kinetic energy and accumulated magic towards Minot.

  Like waves hitting stone cliffs the water rises and reaches for Minot. He replies with a fast club strike, breaking the wave, continuing his spin and aiming for Vasso. Both fighters engage in a bind, club on sword, wrestling for dominance.

  They stand face to face. "Y're put yeself in a bad spot", Vasso taunts Minot. Without warning the Atlantean pulls back and lets Minot hurl himself forward from his push against Vasso's sword. Before the follow-up can hit Minot jumps forward and rolls, the misshapen sword striking air and dirt with violence.

  Minot gets up and back into his stance. They have been fighting for a while and he is starting to feel the exhaustion creep up again. His adrenaline is running dry. Vasso doesn't seem any bit tired. The limits of human combat strength are drawing near, and Minot is feeling his arms getting sore. Whatever Iv is planning, she better do it now, he thinks.

  "Dawnlight Lance!" A bolt of light flies towards Vasso. He turns around and easily parries the attack. Velophine has cast a spell to help Minot. Without skipping a beat he jumps in for a back strike, but misses. Vasso evades and kicks Minot away.

  "Agh-" Minot tumbles on the ground.

  Vasso looks at him disappointed. "Sneaky. But fights are won face-to-face, not with backstabs."

  Minot gets up, unsteady. In front of him is the Atlantean, ready to strike again. Behind him is Velophine who can't provide much to the fight. And somewhere, in between the wind's rush and rain's assault, a fairy is calling out to him. The aggressive, but still somewhat adorable voice that makes the storm's howl sound like a whimper calls for his attention. The fight is reaching its conclusion.

  "Minooooot!", Iv screams. "Hold the fucker in place!"

  He hears that. And he rushes in. Whatever her idea is, he will use every bit of his remaining strength to make it work. Vasso dashes at Minot, similar to how he has done it before. The blade clad in watery doom approaches, but he does not falter. He has analyzed this attack and knows how it will go. The blade is aimed for his neck this time, the tip is slightly higher. Vasso's eyes are locked onto his. His sword arm is extended and only his dash propels it forward. Minot sees an opening on the right side.

  Not even a full meter away from his neck Minot stomps the ground with his right foot, uses it as an anchor to swivel to his left and lets Vasso pass him by. Their eyes follow each other, anticipating the next move. Vasso is pulling his arm back, but Minot is faster. He grips his club with every ounce of strength in his arms and delivers a devastating strike against Vasso's side and stomach.

  The Atlantean's charge ends abruptly. All the velocity combined with the strike empowered by the artifact creates a powerful impact that even an inhuman creature like Vasso would feel. He gasps and bends over, almost tumbling. Minot's arms feel like they're gonna rip apart. But he is not done. He winds up and swings his club against Vasso's sword arm, still extended. Another swing against his head for good measure and a hilt strike in the chest make Vasso stagger backwards. The Atlantean seems to be caught off-guard by the series of attacks. He pants heavily as he tries to recover.

  "Now! Move out the way!"

  Minot hears this and jumps to the side. Soon after he has left the area he hears a noise zip past him, like an arrow, but way heavier. A blink later Vasso stands before him, dumbfounded, and with a harpoon in his chest. He turns around and sees Iv and the three sailors from inside the temple operating a harpoon cannon. Presumably the one sailor Rui was trying to repair. It must've come off of the ship when Vasso struck it. And now the Cloudbreaker has gotten her revenge.

  The Atlantean screams in frustration at the attack, like a fish cursing the fishermen for catching it. The rope attached to the harpoon gets pulled taut and starts tugging on Vasso. Despite the force of the cannon, the harpoon is not too deep inside his chest, and it doesn't look like it hit something vital. This creature's anatomy is beyond human.

  Vasso lifts his sword to cut the rope, but Minot dives in, slaps the sword away and with a precise hit drives the harpoon further into Vasso's body. The tip even peaks out the other side. Groaning in pain, still the man won't drop dead.

  "Plan B! Push the cannon off the island!", Iv commands the sailors. The cannon fell with enough force to lodge itself somewhat securely into the ground. The 3 sailors struggle to free the device and push it. Meanwhile Minot keeps Vasso busy so that he doesn't pull the harpoon out of his chest. He even manages to grab the swordsman's arm and thrust the cut edge of his club several times into the hand holding the sword until the grip loosens and the sword drops. At last the enemy is disarmed, but still alive enough to fight back. The ethereal glow from before returns.

  "Push, ya buncha soft sea hares!", Iv yells impatiently. The sailors fail to make meaningful progress with the heavy equipment. Even Velophine joins the push, but the results are the same. After an exasperated sigh she flies away a short bit, then accelerates towards the cannon. "Out my way, weaklings!" The sailors look at the incoming fairy, unsure what she is even trying to do. If she hits the cannon with that velocity it'll be like a bird flying against a window.

  And yet, a loud 'clang' is produced when Iv collides with the cannon, it gets dislodged and ejected off the island with speeds that no being that small should be able to accomplish. There is even a dent in the machine. The sailors and Velophine stare flabbergasted at the once-immobile cannon now flying off the edge and hurling into the storm clouds below.

  "Hmpf!", Iv huffs, proud of her work. She turns around and sees the rope pulling at the Atlantean. "Get down!"

  Vasso lifts off the ground from the sudden acceleration of the cannon. He is being dragged across the air. The harpoon is firmly stuck in his body and he can't get it out. Like the wind he zips past the sailors, hits the stone ground, tries to hold onto the cliff, but it breaks off and he falls.

  The shape of the Atlantean adversary gets darker and smaller as it descends. Eventually it enters the clouds and vanishes. The fight is won.

  "The Sky will sink", Vasso curses under his breath. "In time."