The Unfading: First battle of the codex

Chapter 6: The Amaranthan Knight

"Why don't you do the same?", Fenrir heard someone's voice from behind him. From the view he could see only a few thungs were visible,a pale face, white hair, a glowing bright figure wearing mostly white. The voice was calm, and warm. A male's voice. Duriel was coming at him from above. Ready to thrust his sword in Fenrir's face. Fenrir moved to a side & ran towards the wall. He jumped, planted his feet on the wall and placed his hand on the sword handle. 'Please God, make this technique of mine work', he prayed in his mind as he dashed towards Duriel while unsheathing his sword. He was holding his sword horizontally & Duriel blocked it with a vertical strike. Just as the two swords collided. Fenrir twisted his sword from infront of Duriel's sword to it's side, then to behind it at such a speed it seemed like his sword had passed through Duriel's sword. "Self-made technique: The Xeva spirit's prayer", Fenrir's voice echoed in the ruined town followed by a slicing noise.
Under the full moon, Fenrir had beheaded the High commander of the Amaranthan army. He was standing there watching Duriel's body fade away wondering why was it fading. A slice mark on the side of Fenrir's abdomen. As he plunged his sword in the ground for support. His eyes fixed on the cave in which he could see Aroosa, tied up. He started taking slow steps towards that cave as he was struck by a sight he never expected. On top of the huge southern gate, infront of the full moon, a humanoid figure was completely visible. The gate was at least 60 feet high, the person's appearance wasn't visible. And due to the full moon behind him, the figure was reduced to only a black silhouette. "You seem happy to have defeated a mere semi-knight with help & sacrifices from your comrades", A male voice came. It's tone extremely cold & intimidating. It shivered Fenrir down to the bone. "Who are you?", Fenrir asked looking up at the gate & taking his stance while clenching his teeth, a visible expression of pain. "You don't have long to live.....are you sure it is the last thing you wanna ask before you die?", the person asked. "You seem too confident. True I am hurt, but still this might even become your last night. Now answer my question", Fenrir replied. "I am the first knight of Amarantha. The Fire Demon, Fafnir", the person replied. "So a knight of Amarantha is such low on pride that he'll fight a wounded swordsman to show his strength", Fenrir commented. "You have a sharp tongue... Why did you kill Duriel?", Fafnir asked. "Because he killed my loved ones", Fenrir replied. "...And did you think that'll save Aroosa?", Fafnir asked. "I did save her", Fenrir replied. "True you saved an illusion of Aroosa", Fafnir said. "An illusion?", Fenrir asked confused as he looked at the cave only to see something he never expected. The figure which seemed like Aroosa was fading slowly. "Where's Aroosa?", Fenrir asked quickly. "How about we make a deal?", Fafnir counter questioned. "What deal?", Fenrir asked. "If you defeat me, I'll tell you where Aroosa is...", Fafnir said. "And what if I don't?", Fenrir asked. "Then you'll die & she will be sacrificed", Fafnir finished. "How prideful of you to challenge a wounded swordsman to a battle", Fenrir commented. "And to trick me in the beginning, how evil can you get?", Fenrir added. "And if you wanted me or her, why did you kill all those innocent people?", Fenrir asked yet again. His anger increasing with each passing second. "You're looking at only one side of the coin Fenrir. Everything have two faces. That's why no one is totally good or evil. The biggest example is me",Fafnir replied. "both my hands are part of my body .... my same hands contain both, the power to heal...", Fafnir added as he lifted one of his hand in an upward motion. A faint green flame appeared under Fenrir's feet & travelled all the way up. Each of his injuries healed, his burn marks faded & his fatigue got removed from his body. "...and the same hands of mine also contain the power to kill", Fafnir added again as his eyes glowed a bright purple. Fenrir could clearly see them from down there. Suddenly a white glowing pattern in the form of a huge circle appeared under his feet. About 24 meters in diameter. 3 circles, one inside of the other, with 6 smaller ones on the outer one at an equal distance from each other. A roaring sound came followed by the shaking of ground. Then, the outer 6 circled gave out a light followed by a huge lightning streak produced by the middle circles. It extended upwards as far as the eye could see. The light faded & Fenrir was standing there, unscathed. "What? It didn't work?", Fenrir asked amusingly. "Her majesty granted me with this ability. It is an extremely high level sacred spell which allows me to pull the soul out of the body of any individual who comes in contact with the light that just appeared. In other words, I can kill you instantly", Fafnir explained. "Now before I kill you, let me ask you this...Is there something that you regret?", Fafnir asked. "I...do. I regret bringing all these people along with me. Now they're all dead because of my incompetence", Fenrir replied quietly. "Ok then, let's get started", Fafnir said as he extended his left arm towards Fafnir. An outburst of orange coloured flames. Creating a beam of fire travelling towards Fenrir. Less of a beam, it was like Fire was flowing out of a huge container, scorching & burning everything in it's path as it moved forward towards Fenrir at a fast speed. It's size as wide as the whole gate's opening. Fenrir ran backwards to dodge the flames. Fafnir kept moving his hand, pointing towards Fenrir. 'This is bad...He's so far away yet the range of his attack & the power....it's overwhelming me. Who is he? How did he gain so much power? Is he a strong mage? Still, he healed me in an instant. And that fire attack he's using....wait, if he's that far away & barely moving, I just need to get close. He must be slow in speed that's why he isn't fighting face to face. He's a mage afterall' Fenrir thought as he ran & then hid behind a rock. "You can hide, but you can't run away Fenrir", Fafnir said as his voice echoed. Fenrir's sword started shaking, 'How am I supposed to fight this beast? I don't even know if he is a human. Sounds like a human male but the attacks are like how elders explained in the stories of dragons. I need to bring him down to ground, or else my blade won't ever be able to reach him ' Fenrir thought as the flames stopped. "Distant slashes", Fenrir unleashed a technique. Sending 5 energy blades towards Fafnir in an instant. The next moment, he saw a fire ball go up in the sky like 20 feet above the gate. As he focused more he saw a humanoid figure twisting & twirling inside the flaming ball as it came down with a blasting noise. Cracks appeared in the ground & as the dust settled, infront of the southern gate about 14 meters away from Fenrir was standing Fafnir. The ground beneath him glowing red due to heat. His body on fire & his eyes glowing a bright amethyst. Fenrir took his stance as he noticed his body shaking instinctively with fear. His eyes were fixed on Fafnir in the distance. He was observing every feature of him with his wide-opened eyes. His horns glowing after every few seconds, the dragon shaped seal on his left arm, his lean muscular build, silver hair which weren't getting burnt by the fire. The pale skin, and the black armor on his lower body with little gold details. Everything made him fear the being infront of him. Then his eyes settled upon the glowing purple ones of Fafnir as he started to shiver even more. In the fraction of a second, Fafnir was mere inches away from his own face. Eyes staring into his, the flames on Fafnir's body now gone. "What are you thinking? Are you afraid of the same thing you are going to become?", Fafnir asked in a low tone. "You are shivering, that is unsightly", he added. Fenrir gritted his teeth. Pushed himself to move and brought his sword from left to strike Fafnir. "You never know when to give up...", Fafnir said as he lifted his left hand to punch his sword. A huge fire beam released out of his hand. The sword melted before even reaching his body as Fenrir lost hold of the blade due to the increased temperature. With the free hand, Fafnir grabbed Fenrir by his orange hair. Lifted him a few inches above the ground. Fenrir was holding Fafnir's arm to support his body upwards, preventing his hair from ripping out due to his weight. He was looking down at Fafnir with his green eyes half open, gritted teeth due to the pain. Fafnir tightened his grip even more as steam started to rise from his hand holding Fenrir. His eyes closed shut this time. Fafnir let go of his head, before he touched the ground, he kicked Fenrir from the left. He was sent off flying & after rolling on the ground a few times he stopped. Still lifted his head & looked at Fafnir taking slow steps towards him. "Even at your full strength, you can just do as much as shiver.... I am not even using any techniques & you are just getting all beaten up. You weren't this slow.... Are you perhaps, afraid of me?", Fafnir said as he walked up to him. Fenrir couldn't even speak. It was as if his tongue had left working. All he could do was to stare at those glowing purple orbs shining in the dark of the night. Fafnir sat down, held Fenrir's face by the chin to lift it up while lowering his own. "I was hoping the strongest swordsman might be able to give me enough challenge to go all-out. But you......", he said as he stared into his green orbs directly. "...you are weak Fenrir Xeva", Fafnir said in a low deep tone. "Here", he added as he got up & threw a sword infront of him. A double bladed katana. It's blade red, just like Duriel's. the pomel & handguard were golden in colour. "It's charged by Her Majesty's magic. An extremely high grade weapon created by her Majesty. It can damage a divine being like myself. Use it & fight me...", Fafnir said as he walked a few feet away from Fenrir. Fenrir instantly took hold of the sword & took his stance. "W-why?", he asked. Fafnir looked at him while narrowing his eyes. "I am not that low on pride to fight an unarmed human", he replied. "Let's begin...", Fafnir added as he setted his body on orange fire. Fenrir dashed forward at his usual fast speed. "Layered slashes", he said as he unleashed 8 slashes, one on top of another in an instant. Fafnir was behind him. 'What's with his speed? I can't even see him moving. Like he's in a totally different dimension', Fenrir thought as he took a sharp turn. Fafnir was just behind him, ready to punch him with his fiery fist. Instinctively, Fenrir jumped upwards as Fafnir scorched the ground below him with a fire blast releasing from his fist. Fenrir sent 3 energy blades towards him while in mid-air. "Protective flames", Fafnir said as the flames around his body changed from orange to yellow. The energy blades faded on contact with them. "Destructive flames", he spoke again. The flames changed from yellow to red as he punched the air with his fist. Releasing a laser shaped red flame towards Fenrir who was still in mid-air. Things seemed to move slow as Fenrir's mind rushed. 'I gotta use some technique. Something to either land back or dodge the flames. Can I slice those flames...no, they'll just spread & burn me. I gotta redirect them I gotta create a technique to blow them away....', he thought as he looked at the red flames coming closer & closer. His sword twisted as it gave out a red light followed by a circular energy slash. The flames spreaded in the direction of the slash as Fenrir twisted his body. "Self made technique: Redirection", he said as Fafnir got a glimpse of the red flames circling him. He took one more turn & the flames following his sword slice got redirected towards Fafnir. His expression didn't even change as the flames split into two before reaching him. Fenrir landed on the ground huffing & gasping for air. 'I did it. I redirected it. I can stand a chance against him. That was probably the heaviest my sword could get. And the energy it took. My vision is getting blurry every now & then. I can't only defend myself. I need to attack him', he thought as he looked at the fire demon, Fafnir. "This is getting interesting", Fafnir said grinning lightly. Fenrir dashed towards him while unleashing a technique, "mere grazes", he said as Fafnir jumped upwards. Punching mid-air, sending small flaming balls down. They bursted on impact. Fenrir ran around dodging the blasts. Fafnir landed on the ground again. "You're using techniques.... I guess should use one too or else the fight won't be fair... I wonder if you can survive it or not...", he said as Fenrir braced himself ready for any possible incoming attack. "Flame art: Twin dragon heads", Fafnir spoke as he moved both his arms in a circular motion on both his sides as they gave out an orange coloured flame. The flame extended in the form of dragon heads as they travelled towards Fenrir giving out an extremely loud horrific roar. Fenrir moved to a side. The flames turned towards his direction. 'This is different. Unlike the previous flames... these are like a living being. They have a life of their own. Will I be able to blow them away?', he thought as he ran looking at a rock ahead of him. Both the flaming dragon heads were following him. Their bases connected to Fafnir's arms. "You're just like Duriel. Almost equal in strength to a semi-knight. You're gifted... Too sad, you'll die tonight", Fafnir said from far away as Fenrir jumped above the rock onto a part where the wall was broken down, creating a slanted pathway from the ground to the wall top. He ran upwards, above the wall. "Distant slashes", he unleashed the technique at the dragons down below. The energy blades passed through the flames. And they remained unchanged. 'He's still keeping up with my command. The command isn't fully finished yet but I wonder if I can ignite from here..... better try...', Fafnir thought as he looked at Fenrir. The dragon heads faded. The flames surrounding Fafnir's body grew even more. He lifted his hand & sliced the air with it. This simple movement created a wall of flames travelling from him towards the town wall. It was huge but thin. Fenrir stopped in his tracks as the flames collided with the wall infront of him, slicing the wall in a perfect diagonal slice. The stone wall came rumbling down. Fenrir lost his footing as the wall fell down. He jumped from rock to rock as they fell. When the ground came close, he twisted & sliced the ground vertically, breaking the fall successfully. "Flame art: Flame blades of hell", Fafnir's voice echoed as he moved his hands at a blinding speed. Just as they came to a rest, a weaven attack of thousands of flame blades travelled outwards from him in all directions. The spaces between the individual slices were smaller than those through which one could pass through. An attack so well thought & at such a wide range. "Sakura destruction", Fenrir unleashed the strongest technique at his arsenal the second he saw those slashes moving towards him at a blinding speed. Dust rose in an extremely wide area. It settled only to reveal Fenrir on the ground. His face half-burnt, still breathing slowly. The sword didn't snap or melted away. Fafnir walked upto him. "So you have reached your end. That skill of yours... You unleash 101 attacks in all directions... Since you fought well..... I won't let you suffer anymore", Fafnir said as he looked down at him. He lifted his left hand as if a string was attached to his fingers. He pulled it back as Fenrir's chest rose up & he drew his last breath. It was the string of life which just got pulled out. Fenrir's body faded in the moonlight as Fafnir also faded away.

Theo on his mountain was casting spells. A green pattern infront of him. "Ah, so you killed an innocent mortal. That knight..... his strength is equal to one-eighth of yours. An extremeley strong divine being granted the ability over flames. Successfully caused regret in that swordsman & killed him. An extremely evil act....you might think you're right after doing all this for love..... but whatever you do, in my view. It's pure evil", he spoke calmly as he continued to silently cast his spells.

Fafnir threw Fenrir's body infront of Amarantha as he kneeled down. "Here's the body of the mortal you asked for", Fafnir said. "Nice job", Amarantha replied. There was a moment of silence as Fafnir spoke. "Your Majesty....", he said. "...I have two questions", he added as he looked down. "Go on, ask", Amarantha replied calmly. "First is.....if we can bring Duriel back to life...", Fafnir spoke. "We can. There's a condition for it though. To bring back a defeated knight or semi-knight, the killer of him must be killed first. After that, they can be revived. If the killer is turned into an Amaranthan knight, then we won't need the knight's body or cast any spells for it. So yes, we can bring him back. What's the other question?", Amarantha explained. "...Why....did we call Fenrir out? We could've just sacrificed Aroosa without having to fight him. He wouldn't have been able to find us in the divine realm anyways", Fafnir asked. "You see......humans...make progress by time. Their population will increase, they'll find new ways to fight. I don't want to be outnumbered by them. That's why I needed Fenrir... he loved Aroosa & his regret was caused by it. Regret caused by love is the strongest one Fafnir....", Amarantha said as she stood up from her throne. Mist appeared & surrounded around them. Fafnir's eyes opened wide at the sudden spell. The dark grey mist circling them like a storm fell to the ground, revealing a dark terrain. Starry sky, rocky ground, surrounded by fog blocking the view. Amarantha took a step forward as the fog blew away & everything became clear. It was the fog field of the codex. She extended her arm as a green portal opened beneath her giving out strong waves of wind. It was totally silent as Amarantha's chants started to echo throughout the whole terrain. "In the name of Amarantha. I demand Fenrir to come back to life as my knight....", she said as Fenrir's body faded in. "...Your new name & rank will be Fenrir, the second knight of Amarantha. I grant you super strength, speed & the special ability to read the minds of the life forms you can see. Now come forth as my loyal servant!", she finished the chant as Fenrir's dress changed to a white nagagi over a white hakama. His haori changed into an orange one. His half-burnt face got covered by a fox mask. The eye slots of the masks were covered with glass. A bright purple glow was visible when he opened his eyes. His weapon was a katana. A golden pomel & a golden handguard, covered by a crystal-gold sheathe. He kneeled down before Amarantha as he spoke, "Your orders, your highness?". His voice was the same as before. Duriel appeared behind him automatically. Once again the mist appeared & started to circle around them. As it settled, they were back in the divine realm, infront of Amarantha's throne as she sat on it yet again. "There are two towns, I want you two to go wipe them out", she said looking at Fenrir & Fafnir. "For Duriel, you won't train with Fafnir anymore, you'll be training with the soldiers. Fafnir, you'll train with your fellow knight", she added as she pointed towards Duriel. They all got up & left the room.

Duriel went off to somewhere as Fafnir & Fenrir walked out. "So...do you know about your abilities?", Fafnir asked. "I do remember my skills, like I've trained for a long time. But there's one problem...", Fenrir replied. "What is it?", Fafnir asked curiously. "The skills of mine that I remember, are extremely slow compared to how fast I can be", Fenrir replied. "So you can go faster?", Fafnir asked. "I can.....go about 10 times faster...", Fenrir replied. "Who knows, it might be fun to train with you", Fafnir said coldly. "Oh, how about we have a small training session after we get down?", Fenrir asked cheerfully. "Oh...sure", Fafnir replied as they both walked away while talking.

To be continued...

{ I killed him, kinda sad but well it's not the end of the story so stay tuned for the next chapter haha. That's all...cya in the next chapter}