The Forsaken Hero

Borealis and the high inquisitor blurred together in a flash of steel and feathers. The demon was small and nimble, releasing bursts of ice mana with every lash of his talons. Thick reams of ice crept over the wall and floors where his attacks missed, only to be melted by arcs of fire from the inquisitor’s sword.

The inquisitor shouted and unleashed a barrage of heavy, two-handed slashes. His blade trailed thick ribbons of dancing fire, leaving lines that lingered in the air. The inquisitor moved through them with ease, but whenever Borealis approached one, it flared with seventh-level fire mana. The attacks seemed random at first, but as the ribbons accumulated, Borealis grew more hesitant, taking fewer opportunities to attack.

I frowned, my tail twitching. What was he doing? The inquisitor was clearly wearing down, so why wasn’t he striking at his weakness?

Only then did I notice the pattern. Every swipe of the inquisitor’s sword filled in a gap, slowly building a cage around the demon. In the narrow confines of the corridor, it proved a web that restricted Borealis’s only advantage–maneuverability.

Borealis surrounded himself with ice mana and surged toward a gap, but the inquisitor’s sword was already waiting. The two collided in a massive explosion, shaking the keep’s walls. Dust rained from above, and though stronger wards reinforced the keep than the cathedral, I covered my head instinctively, forgetting my ward would protect me should it actually collapse.

My head snapped up as another clash shook the building. Borealis now flapped helplessly in a cage of sunlight. There was still room to maneuver, but with his options so limited, the inquisitor predicted his every move, his sword ready to intercept.

Frustration welled up in the Nexus as Borealis narrowly dodged another series of attacks. The inquisitor’s mastery of fire mana perfectly countered the ice demon’s power. Ice’s elemental vulnerability to fire wasn’t near as extreme as the demon’s weakness to sunlight. Still, combined with the reach a sword provided and powerful magic items, the inquisitor came ahead with a distinct advantage.

I clenched my hands, trying to keep up with the fight, but my senses were so slow I barely followed half the moves. Sometimes, the two would blur for several seconds at once, only reappearing to gather their mana for another exchange.

There was a flash of light followed by a shockwave, and Borealis went flying. The inquisitor appeared behind him, sword outstretched. Thick rivulets of blood scattered from the blade, hissing as they made contact with the fire wreathing his body.