God Rising: Battle Of Atela

On his back was a rock that gauged a hundred and ten pounds and Ludovic remained close to him, tallying the numbers and monitoring his efficiency.

If his pace was slow, he"d get a lash on his shoulders, and the count would reset to zero. Sometimes he"d reach five hundred, slip-up would pitilessly reset it all, and he"d have to start from the top and aim for a thousand again.

He"d spend some hazy afternoons running around the town, and the hills for five rounds a day. He"d feel his heart pump, head spin, lung burst and his body scream for a break no matter how short it would be. Every muscle craved relaxation as blood courses miles of veins and a pulse sounds in his ears. He"d collapsed many times in his first months, and he"d be out of a day or two, but with time, his feet could strike the asphalts for an hour without him worrying about pa.s.sing out.

His wet hair would lie like a second skin over his cheeks, as he practiced kick boxing with the surrounding trees. Bouncing, Grappling, swinging his body, shooting his legs out in the wind. He thought he had mastered it, so he asked for permission to attack the strongest surface in town.

He wasn"t thinking when swung his tight fist, too quick and potent, into a rough boulder; the impact like thousands of venomous blades piercing apart his clammed fist. 

His fingers ended up red and twisted. He tried his best not to cry, and he"d managed to keep the tears from welling, and not a drop coursed down his face. 

He continued more common routines that involved riding a horse at full gallop and cutting at a wooden post with his sword, wall climbing, rock lifting, a thousand weapon strikes every few days, and at the end of every week, he had a full day of rest. 

Months packed with training continued, he ate lots of meat, drank a lot of beer, had s.e.x time to time, and got bruised up whenever he tried to intervene in bar fights. Ludovic would help him every time until he could stop one himself.

*

Darren escaped the marble tub and gaped as his eyes went over his appearance in the mirror. It"s been four months since his training and boy could he see a difference. 

"You"re a living work of art now, young Darren. That bronze skin is so tempting to touch and it shows every point of you his strength." 

He observed more of his well-toned body, from his arms, to his completely chiseled abs, his thighs, and lastly his legs. Now it all made sense to him.

Whenever he was doing sit-ups under a tree, the gentle sunlight falling on his bare shoulders, beast girls his age would stop after they glimpsed his defined muscles doused with sweat. Whenever he looked at them, they"d move away before he had the chance to say hi. He thought it was the mask, but it turned out, it might"ve been something else he still hasn"t found out. But all he knew presently was that his body caught their attention in the first place.

"Thank you for the training Mr Warner."

"But we haven"t completed it."

"What"s left to do?" He asked, tilting his head. 

"Fight me."

The sound of water dripping into the tub echoed, and the two beastmen continued to stare at each other. One waiting for a reply, and the other was yet to give him the answer he craved. 

"Very well, we will fight" Darren consented to it. He wrapped a towel and was about to leave when Ludovic got out. Water trickled down his chest covered in long, jagged scars, and he moved towards Darren.

"We will have our showdown at the courtyard at sunset." The prince nodded before exiting, and a smile appeared on Ludovic"s face the moment the door to the bathroom closed, "I don"t believe in miracles, but that"s what the young beastman needs."

The setting yellow wad of fire with rich tints of orange gold stretches far and wide, leaving the canvas of the sky red mixed with tangerine, purples, and crimsons. The threads of light continued to linger amongst the rolling clouds, as two beastmen arrived at a courtyard. Their shadows slowly shrunk towards their feet as a cold breeze blew past them, then Ludovic broke the silence in the tensed atmosphere.

"You must be wondering why you"re fighting me instead of the dummy. That is because I"m a bigger challenge for you. What"s more interesting than a student fighting a teacher?" He lifted the claymore embedded into the ground and swung his arm, thinking back his last sword fight. Darren did the same and pulled out a sharp eight-inch blade, then he positioned himself into a battle stance.

"We are beastmen. We are not like the fays that depend more on magic than physical strength. Our clan has the best swordsman, and our strength points are many digit points. It is something to be proud about. This will be a sword fight with no magic at all, so we will both be equal. I wish you nothing but luck, my friend," With those words said. He wiped the dirt off his sword, then blindfolded himself. 

"He is fighting without vision? Does this mean it"s an automatic win for me?" 

Ludovic shook his finger at the Prince, "it"s a little too soon to think you have a chance of winning. I don"t have to see to win. I battle best without vision. So get ready to see me in action." 

Darren"s sword laid cold in his hands, and he breathed steadily in the cold evening air. "I can do this!" It was a fight to know how far Darren had gone. A battle to measure the difference between his new self and his timid self of before.

The two beastmen stood a wide distance apart as the chalky mauve leftovers of the sunset dyed the sky.

Darren anxiously clutched his sword no matter how hard he tried to calm himself. His mind was too occupied with thoughts of how difficult it might be to face Ludovic, who might be two times stronger than the practice dummy. He"d only seen him fight with his fists at the bar, he wondered what a master swordsman like him was capable of. 

"Oi, Prince charming focus!" 

He snapped out of his thoughts once Ludovic"s husky voice resounded in his eardrums. One way or another, he had to win and prove himself worthy for the knowledge of the magic lock.

The metallic retorts of colliding blades gathered Ludovic"s nephews and niece to their room window. They gawked at the two beastmen, and watched  how they moved around to get into a better position or just avoid the next attack they couldn"t parry. 

"Beast kids, why aren"t you sleeping?!" The beastchildren scurried to bed once they heard their mother"s voice and her approaching footsteps. She met them tucked in bed, and she slowly moved to the window, glimpsed the beastmen before closing the children"s window because of the cold. The moment she left, they bounced to their feet and moved to watch the fight.  

Darren swung his sword at Ludovic, but the wolfman countered, following the sound of the sword cutting through the wind. Darren blocked the unexpected kick with his arm before it could contact the face he treasured.

The ruler made a long stride back, and Ludovic smiled. Without his misleading eyes, he could detect each development and sound. The sentiment of the earth a.s.sembled a psychological image of whatever he needed to see.

Ludovic led the next attack, and Darren prepared himself for whatever would come his way. The older wolf dashed to the side and slashed swiftly at Darren"s neck, almost severing his head. A cold sweat ran down his temple, but he pulled himself back together, pushing aside the fact that he almost got a critical hit. 

Darren looked around, thinking of something he could do. Maybe Ludovic expected a cowardly attack like throwing mud in his eyes, that"s why he blindfolded himself. Darren clicked his tongue, bouncing back as pondered deeply on what and where his weak spots lied. The two swung their sword, threw kicks, blocked and manoeuvred their ways out of each other"s hold.

The stygian darkness took over the sky, and the candles in the house weren"t enough to light up the courtyard, Darren was now at a disadvantage, and he"d realised he was almost at his limit.

Ludovic continued to swing his sword as Darren"s strength seeped away and he struggled to block the attacks. His breath ceased as he darted his eyes to his shirt, pooling with the darkened blood from his abdomen. How? When? 

To an outside observer, it would appear to be one synchronous cyclone of movements of blinding speed, a blur too fast for the eye to follow. It took less than a split second for Ludovic to bolt to his opponent"s side and swing his sword causally, wanting to see the spot that would bleed.

The prince placed his shaking hand on the tear in the fabric of his damp shirt, then he looked at the red on his palm. His face shut in a scowl as an unexpected rush of agony speared through his body, and he hacked out blood in fits before bending his body forward.

"No, not yet!" Despite how the searing pain felt, and how hard his heart beat against his chest, the defiant stance and angry crease through his forehead showed he wasn"t going to give up yet. He had to make the older wolfman bleed, no matter how deep the cut is. 

Daren dashed towards the older wolfman, and Ludovic t.i.tled his head, wondering why the Prince had foolishly opened himself for attacks. He shrugged, "Oh well. I win!" He held the sword in preparation for a last thrust, but Once Darren closed in, he surprised Ludovic by ducking under his attack. 

Ludovic put all his weight into that swing. Recovering won"t be that fast. Thus, Darren had a chance.

Once Darren had successfully gotten behind him, he grabbed Ludovic attempting to toss him to the ground, but the wolfman kept striking the centre of Darren"s abdomen with his elbow. Fiery bursts pulsated his wound, intensifying with each jarring hit, and Ludovic would not stop until his opponent"s grip around him loosened up. 

Darren grated his teeth, and with a loud cry, he placed his hand on the back of Ludovic"s neck, twisted so he"d be in front of him, then pulled his chin onto the shoulder of the arm around his head.

He kicked his legs forward, fell on his back and slammed Ludovic"s face into the ground. 

"Woah!!!" The kids could barely see what was going on, but they saw that move and could feel the pain of the impact their uncle ought to have faced.

The mauve of the dusky sky intensified, and in just a while, the biggest star had set, giving way to a thousand others.

Ludovic was impressed. He got up, moved his head from side to side, then his lips split into a grin that arced in a sickly way. He moved a leg back and lowered his body. That was his favorite battle stance. No one had ever lived to tell the tale. Whenever he got in that position, it was to a.s.sure his opponents they"d never walk out of the fight alive. 

Darren"s brows creased as his eyes tried to follow Ludovic"s movements that blurred and caused an illusion in his eyes. "Where exactly is he?" 

"Can"t you see me Darren, I"m around you" the voices echoed as they swayed at a fast pace. Darren swung his sword aimlessly, but none of them disappeared when they were struck. They were like an invisible barrier created by his own imagination or something of that sort. 

He got a sudden palm strike to his back, and he swung his arm to the left, but he still hadn"t cut down Ludovic who was taking cover in the illusion.

"I thought you said no magic would be involved!" He pressed snugly against his opened wounds to stop the free flowing surge of sticky blood as he tried to keep watch over any other unpredictable attack.

"Don"t be mistaken. This isn"t magic. It"s just my speed, and the advantage of your queasy mind." Ludovic rose his elbow to the underside of his chin, and Darren swung his sword, but still didn"t get him.

"You"ve lost." 

Before he could swing his sword again, Ludovic jabbed his sword until the blade burst through his back. The ferocity of the attack left him shocked and overwhelmed, then a small smile appeared on his face as he dropped on his knees, accepting his defeat.

Ludovic pointed his claymore at his neck. A little pressure was enough to get blood seeping from the tender flesh, and the prince patiently waited for the final blow.

"Why am I hearing noises?!" Maria stormed her way to her children"s room once she heard loud gasps. The beastwoman met the children tucked in and asleep again. Although she was suspicious, she didn"t want to bother herself too much because the baby in her womb was trouble enough. She closed the window, unable to see anything, then left.

The sword in Ludovic"s hand glimmered ominously in the pale moonlight and dripped Darren"s blood.  "You did well." Ludovic raised the sword, then swung it downwards.

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