King of the Plains

The black wolves closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

"I'll thin the numbers."

Alexia began a long incantation, racing to finish before the enemy reached them.

"My lines of flame shall bar the path of unworthy foes. Flame Lines."

Fire magic amplified by her brooch produced sweeping lines of flame that surged toward the wolves.

Three of the ten leapt high to dodge.

The other seven were swallowed by fire and stopped moving.

"Going in!"

Azu targeted two of the airborne wolves, striking as they landed.

No matter how agile a wolf might be, the instant of landing left it wide open.

Clean kills.

The last wolf lunged at Elza's throat the moment it touched down, but Elza intercepted it with her mace and slammed it into the ground.

Something red bloomed from the wolf's skull.

Elza flicked the blood from her face. Her smile never faltered.

The wolves were dealt with.

But when Flame Lines reached the Etoroki itself, the creature dispersed the spell with a single swing of its cleaver.

"Come on, that's a reasonably strong spell."

"This is… heh, we're in trouble."

"I'll draw its attention. Keep casting."

"I know!"

Alexia began another incantation.

The Etoroki's nostrils flared. It locked onto Alexia.

Its jaws gaped wide. A roar shook the air, and then it charged.

The raw terror of that massive body bearing down was staggering.

But Alexia didn't move. She held her incantation steady.

She knew. She had a warrior she could rely on.

Azu stepped between the Etoroki and Alexia.

Their gazes crossed.

In that instant, the Etoroki assessed Azu's ability.

Not a real obstacle. But the sword she carried was a different matter.

That weapon could reach the Etoroki.

The Etoroki redirected toward Azu, bringing its massive cleaver down with speed and force befitting its colossal frame.

Azu tracked the cleaver, and the arm swinging it, until the last possible moment before dodging.

The impact shook the ground.

Despite the force of that blow, the creature instantly reversed its wrist and sent a second slash at Azu.

Azu leapt. She dodged the cleaver again.

The wind pressure alone nearly knocked her off balance.

The sheer brute strength was beyond imagination. Even a graze could be fatal.

Azu didn't have the power to parry. Not yet.

She gripped her sword and cut across the Etoroki's chest.

The fur was thick, but she poured the sword's power into the strike without reservation.

Even Azu's meager magic was enough to activate the blade's enchantment, slicing through fur and into flesh.

Azu stepped back, putting distance between them.

The Etoroki kept its eyes on Azu while never losing track of Alexia.

"The wound…"

The gash Azu had inflicted was already closing.

Staggering regeneration. Cutting alone would never finish this thing.

A heavy breath escaped the Etoroki's maw.

Azu read it and braced herself. The moment the Etoroki moved, she moved with it.

The Etoroki swung its cleaver in relentless, wild arcs.

There was no technique to speak of, but the Etoroki had no need for technique.

Skill was what the weak learned to fight the strong. As if to prove it, the Etoroki rained down cleaver strikes and open-handed blows without pause.

Azu's speed, bolstered by Elza's blessing, just barely kept her out of reach.

But the ceaseless barrage was grinding away at her stamina and nerves alike.

Every single attack was lethal. What Azu felt wasn't mere tension. It was something far worse.

But she had to keep dodging whether she liked it or not.

"Azu!"

The instant Alexia's voice reached her, Azu planted both feet on the Etoroki's stomach and kicked off, launching herself backward.

The cleaver gouged the spot where she'd been standing a heartbeat ago.

The moment Azu cleared out, a pillar of fire erupted beneath the Etoroki's feet.

It swelled in an instant, soaring skyward.

Azu recognized this magic.

It resembled the spell stored in the magic stone that had once saved her life.

The scale was nothing compared to what had been unleashed on the Giant Centipede, but still.

For thirty seconds the pillar of fire seared the Etoroki, but when the creature swung its cleaver wide, the column wavered. The Etoroki forced its head through the gap, sucked in the superheated air without hesitation, and its chest ballooned outward.

Then it blasted that stored breath straight down at the ground.

The sheer force of it snuffed the fire pillar entirely.

"What absurd physical ability… It earns the title of King, I suppose."

"The King of the Plains…"

Cold sweat ran down both their faces.

That spell had been the most powerful hard-to-dodge magic in Alexia's arsenal.

Anything stronger, the Etoroki could evade.

If a spell missed, Azu wouldn't hold. If Azu fell, Alexia would be next, and then Elza.

But without taking risks, there was no path to victory.

With every breath, the Etoroki's charred skin knit itself back together.

The Etoroki's strength was brutally simple.

Hypertrophied muscles generating overwhelming force.

A cleaver that ground through anything it struck. Fists like boulders.

Kicks that tore up the earth.

Straightforward power. Size meant strength. An undeniable fact.

And on top of all that, its regeneration.

Shallow cuts healed in moments. Even full-body burns recovered within a few breaths.

Scabs flaked away as proof of restoration.

The Etoroki howled again.

The same cry as before, yet to Azu and the others it sounded louder. Stronger.

Alexia took a small step back, but Azu held her ground.

Master was behind her. She couldn't afford to give an inch.

The Etoroki didn't move right away. It was watching Azu.

No, not Azu exactly. It was looking past her. Farther.

Azu turned her head just slightly, catching a glimpse of whatever had seized the Etoroki's attention.

A lone warrior was approaching.

Helmeted, cloaked, bare from the waist up.

A spear in the right hand. A massive shield in the left.

Armored legs.

"That's a Spartian warrior."

It was Master who said it.

The Etoroki no longer had eyes for Azu or Alexia.

The Spartian warrior drew back, spear still in hand, arching his steel-forged body to its limit.

And hurled.