Realm Lord

Aziel looked at Arthur with a smug look as he stepped closer, the confidence in his stance unmistakable. The fading light cast long shadows across his features, making the smugness appear almost predatory as he advanced.

Arthur snapped upwards and started to rise to his feet while backing up, his movements jerky with panic and exhaustion. "Look, just leave me... I-I’ll be dead weight if I come along." His voice was tinged with desperation, a futile attempt to push away the unwanted help.

Aziel’s gaze became more fierce, his blue eyes narrowing with determination as he continued his approach. "I don’t wanna." The childish response carried an undercurrent of iron will that brooked no argument.

Arthur took a couple of defensive steps back, his feet shuffling through the dead roses that crumbled beneath his weight. With a flash of concentration, he manifested his odachi—the long blade materializing in his hands, its polished surface reflecting the last rays of sunlight. "I’m warning you, Aziel... Leave me alone." Arthur took a stance with his weapon, planting his feet firmly in the barren soil, his knuckles white around the hilt.

Aziel stopped and smirked, eyeing the blade with casual disregard. "Cute stick."

Arthur was taken aback by his words, the dismissal cutting deeper than he would have expected. But he had no time to respond as Aziel summoned his own weapon. The spear manifested out of lightning, crackling electricity coalescing into spotless, perfect silver in his hands. The air around them charged with static electricity, making the hairs on Arthur’s arms stand on end.

Arthur’s grip on his weapon tightened as he readied himself, muscles tensing in anticipation of the coming clash. His breath came in short, controlled bursts as he focused on his opponent, trying to predict the first move.

Aziel took a deep breath before taking an angled step, and then vanished in a burst of lightning that momentarily illuminated the dead roses.

’He’s gone!?’

And then Arthur felt the presence behind him as Aziel appeared in his shadow. but before his eyes could even so much as flinch, the cold metal of the steel lightning touched his back. Electricity surged throughout his body, every nerve ending firing simultaneously in a symphony of pain. "Sorry about this, but you’re too stubborn for your own good," Aziel’s voice came from behind, matter-of-fact and almost gentle despite his actions.