Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

A few moments before the Duel…

Rail'ak paced about the waiting room, reciting his personal mantra like he did before any battle. It had been his practice for a long time. 'You are the best, the brightest, and none below the stars exists who can oppose you. Not even your father… You are the best…'

The more he went over it, the hotter the fire in his belly grew. He'd beaten his father at the Dance of the Sentinel before, and such a feat was only possible for one fit to rule the demiplane and all its people. That person was him, and no self-serving imposter of a Guardian Emperor was going to take that away from him.

"Your Highness, what are you going to do about the guardian?" one of his fellow Stormrunners asked, watching him pace about the cobblestone room. The stone slabs were cold to the touch, yet this room felt hot as they basked in their leader's tyrannical aura.

He turned to the man, his mind coming up blank as to what his name was. Probably something'ak or something'al, as their names usually went. "Oh, don't worry about that part. Just be sure to cheer me on as hard as you can. I'll protect us all from that imposter."

"That green power of his, though…"

"I said, don't worry," the man answered, "Now go wait with the others. I need time to… um, go through my forms."

The three Stormrunners who'd been waiting on him left hurriedly. Outside the door, however, they seemed to turn pale white before bowing to a person whose presence Rail'ak knew all too well.

The prince rolled his eyes as an old man dressed in white and gold robes swept into the room. He walked off, putting distance between himself and his father, "Here to wish me good luck?"

The man shook his head, "I'm here to ask you to call this off."

Rail'ak could feel his blood boil. He walked up to the old man and looked him in the eye, "Who's your son? Me, or him."

"You are."

"Then why are you defending that prick? He's not even your own kin," the prince growled, "I've seen these humans, and all they do is take from the world and hurt each other. It's no wonder the demons are here to wipe them all out."

"You're right about humans. They destroy everything they touch," the man answered, stunning his son, "But there is a reason they haven't destroyed everything. While many humans destroy, some build and create. You're about to go against one of them."

"And I will waste him," the boy smirked.

The High Sentinel remained quiet, watching his son with a gaze laden with sorrow and heartbreak. He'd really tried to teach his son all he knew, but with each lesson, the man tetered closer to the edge, becoming more and more irredeemable. "I came here to do two things. One was to ask you to back down honourably."

"Well, you failed at that, just like you failed at being a father. What's the other?" the prince asked.

"The other was to warn you about Soren." At this, the young prince was intrigued, lending his father a listening ear. "Soren is the kind of person who's difficult to anger unless you touch his comrades. I saw him lose control of himself once before, and carnage had followed. He's planning something, and while you might believe that you're ready for it, you are not. He will have his way, and you will regret ever having challenged him by the end of it all."

"He's a crippled Wood Rank," the prince growled, "But since you're feeling so afraid for my life, I'll end this battle before it's even begun. I'll show you just how fragile your hero truly is, then everyone will know him for the imposter that he is."

Ungv'ak felt his brain burning, 'I've raised such a fool.'

…………

Present time…

Alaric spun the bow staff in his hands one more time, satisfied with his decision. 'I choose this,' he mentally announced. The weapon rack vanished, hammering the reality of his decision into the back of his skull.

Normally, fighters would choose a weapon they were most comfortable with, but Alaric was still too new to using a blade in heavy combat, and while it really was balanced, it felt one-dimensional as different weapons proved superior within different settings, like the bone chain sword when he'd been running from a stampede while protecting Scarlett. He didn't have the speed to be in too many places at once, but with that weapon, he didn't have to be, and he was still experimenting.

Even then, he was only starting to learn what weapon was considered balanced and what wasn't. And since he was skilled in the Dance of the Sword, he could use a lot of weapons without having to figure out how they worked. It was all worked into the dance somehow.

Today, his bo staff was his best choice—perfect for incapacitating an arrogant prince without 'accidentally' killing him.

He returned to his place on the other side of the ring and glanced at the prince as he weighed two blades in both hands.

"Tch!" Alaric scoffed at the conflicted look on the prince's face as he considered the two identical blades.

Turning his attention to the sky above, he locked eyes with the High Sentinel. The old man didn't as much as blink or show a reaction. He merely watched the battle that was about to unfold. If anything, this Duel made him look sad and pensive as he supported neither combatant, while rooting for both of them at the same time.

Alaric spotted his friends, seated high in the stands with worried looks on their faces. He offered them a small smile before he was interrupted by an annoying sound.

Rail'ak chuckled, drawing Alaric's attention.

He'd picked a weapon. The prince held a long, slender sword in his hands, its hilt so long and curved that it could accommodate three large hands. The blade was slightly curved as well, with the kind of reach that rivalled a greatsword but not so much a bo staff. With how fast the Steel Rank made him, though, the bo staff's reach would prove inconsequential.

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Alaric didn't mind.

His shadow bubbled, and from it, a black knight emerged, holding a dark, steel sword in her arms. Rail'ak was quick to react, "That's cheating. If you must have a companion, then I shall have one as well. Isn't that right, High Sentinel?"

The silence that followed was deafening, as everyone waited for the High Sentinel's decision on the matter. Alaric didn't bother to look up, and perhaps because of it, the decision swayed in the prince's favour. There was a nod from the big guy above, rousing an uproar of cheers from the crowd, as well as a few grumbles.

It was a sound argument at first glance, but Alaric didn't mind the hidden implications, remaining silent even as his guardian seemed inclined to object. Not only did this even the odds for Rail'ak, but it also gave him a significant advantage if he chose to call on a demihuman of the Steel Rank.

In a moment, a large demihuman walked into the cage, towering nearly a foot over Rail'ak at an impressive seven feet of height. He was made up of more muscle than any being should have been capable of holding, and the air about him hummed from his might. This man made LionHeart look like a child, and that was saying something.

And yet, the big man's presence did nothing to Alaric's confidence, or his anger. Even when he picked up a large gauntlets and slammed them together, sparks flying all around, Alaric remained perfectly neutral.

He hadn't expected this to be easy, but the more he watched Rail'ak pile up defences against a 'crippled' Wood Rank, the more irritated he grew at the mere sight of him.

"Begin," Ungv'ak's voice rumbled.

The word had barely left the High Sentinel's mouth when a blade came right for Alaric's neck, cutting down in a clean diagonal path, hissing as it parted the air in its path. A grin was plastered on the Stormrunner's face when his blade made contact with Alaric's bo staff.

The force sent a heavy rattle through Alaric's body, but he didn't have the time to dwell on it or even regain his balance as the next attack came immediately. His staff barely made it in time to block. His hands rattled, his muscles screamed, and his feet left the ground.

The cage shook with the force of an earthquake. A body had slammed into it so hard that it dented in the shape of a man. Alaric tasted blood, but he couldn't dwell on the pain running through his body. He didn't even have the time to observe his guardian's battle, but he could already guess how it was going, given the chaos surrounding them.

He tore from the indentation in the cage and darted forward, his bo staff spinning as he slipped past Rail'ak's attack. Rail'ak's hand left the hilt and coiled into a fist laden with aether, going straight for Alaric's face.

The boy whipped back, summoning all his strength to avoid what would have cracked his skull. The attack missed him by a hair, the sheer proximity leaving a small burn on his cheek from the hot air.

The long sword was already moving. Alaric shifted, avoiding the blade while his bo staff travelled, clashing with the blade on its next attack. The attack once more rattled his body, reminding him of the might he faced as he was pushed back.

Alaric deflected, carving a new path for the offensive blade and slamming it into the sand as he danced on the edge of his destruction. He was one minute into the battle, and he was already on the defensive. Rail'ak attacked with no reservation, and Alaric dodged with every fibre of his being.

This wasn't the way an arrogant brat fought. This wasn't the way one who was unaware of his abilities fought. Alaric could feel Rail'ak's fear, and that made the prince dangerous.

When he did manage to strike, the Stormrunner was unshaken, grinning at his attempt at striking the indestructible Steel Rank body. Alaric, at the sudden sight of an opening in the man's assault, had struck without layering his Spiritual vessel over the weapon. In a high-speed battle such as this one, such a feat proved evasive.

"What makes a weakling like you so confident?" the Stormrunner chuckled, striking the bo staff with enough force to shatter Alaric's bones. The only reason they held was because he focused his Spiritual Vessel into defence, layering his hands and legs whilst channeling the force into the ground to the best of his abilities.

A moment later, he jumped back, and Rail'ak followed, stepping onto a circular array of symbols that exploded on impact. Sand rose into the air, and from it, a blue-haired male emerged, grinning like a fool, "Party tricks?! Is that your plan?"

Alaric jumped back again and parried his next attack with precision. The cage had stopped rumbling and in the centre of the arena stood a knight bound inside a green circle of runes, green translucent chains coiling around her body. At her feet, the body of a seven-foot-tall demihuman lay there, unconscious.

Alia stared at the boy as he fought off his attacker with skill and finesse, yet still he was pushed back again and again. [ Let me help you. The other one was not much of a challenge. ]

[ Not yet… ] Alaric responded calmly, and shot forward, weaving past the blade to strike the prince square in the chest. The blow was layered with his Spiritual Vessel, making it at least an equivalent to a Stone Rank's fist, and yet, Alaric's fist pulsed with pain.

He vanished and appeared several feet away from the demihuman, clenching his fist with a grimace.

Rail'ak dusted off the spot Alaric had hit, "Is this all you've got?"

The boy snorted, looking utterly bored in the process despite his glowing eyes, "Why don't you come and find out?"

The ground separating them exploded at least six times before the prince was seen flying off at a tangent. Alaric grinned widely. It appeared the prince was not immune to his magic. Rail'ak got up with a growl, launching himself straight across the arena with his sword ready for one attack.

The ground was undoubtedly littered with traps, so he jumped over them, anger flashing through his eyes as their swords clashed once more. His attacks came faster… almost too fast for Alaric to keep up, but where he failed to keep up, he teleported, making up for the lack of speed without breaking a sweat.

This game of cat and mouse continued for a decent ten minutes before Rail'ak finally landed a blow on Alaric's ribcage. The boy hadn't seen it as Rail'ak had moved too fast for his eyes to follow or even for his body to react, having adapted to the random teleportation.

With the wind knocked out of him, Alaric was launched across the arena, where he bounced and rolled several times before he came to a stop in a heap. His breath came out in hoarse spurts. He couldn't tell whether he had broken ribs or not, but everything hurt. He probably had several broken ribs.

A circle of runes appeared around his torso, and the resonating sound of crunching bones filled the air, snapping Alaric's bones back into place and mending them to a state where he could breathe fine again.

"How is that possible?" Rail'ak growled, "You can't use aether."

Alaric stumbled to his feet, "You're partly right about that… but there is more than one way to cast a spell. You've been walking into spells this whole time, haven't you?"

"Quite crafty for a human as weak as you are," Rail'ak snorted, "Perhaps I'll stop going easy on you."

The air grew tense, and Alaric felt the aether in the air start to crackle. Wings sprouted from Rail'ak's back, and he rose into the air. Above him, a cyclone of wind began to form, filled with lightning and the elements of a storm all condensed into a spell aimed at one person.

Alaric smirked. Red runes spilt from his hands, forming a ball shrouded in runes. He threw the ball up and watched it grow to meet the descending cyclone.

The two spells met, and aether rolled off the two of them with a loud hiss. Rail'ak's cyclone trembled and grew erratic while Alaric's ball continued to grow, unfazed by the power of Rail'ak's storm.

It grew larger and decimated the storm completely, then continued to grow, reaching for his opponent. It covered Alaric first, not doing anything, then it reached Rail'ak.

The prince, pressed up against the cage, was shocked when it grew past him without doing anything. Rail'ak laughed out loud as the runes grew past him, "Bwahaha! Storm Shield only works outside of the… Nghh! What is this?"

One moment, he'd been flying normally, and the next, he was flapping his wings twice as hard, struggling to stay afloat. The ball of runes grew into a dome that covered the whole amphitheatre. By the time it did, Rail'ak had grown too tired of flapping his wings that he descended like a bird shot out of the sky and crashed onto the sandy arena.

"This is not Storm Shield."

Alaric shrugged, "It's a close relative. The opposite of Storm Shield. I think you get the gist of it, and since you depend on your power over wind to fly, well, I can imagine you've never had to use those wings the way they were meant to be used. They must feel quite heavy on your back now. I call this spell Storm Void."