"Not bad, pup."
Arthur's eyes were wide in horror upon hearing that voice. Quickly he turned and searched in the direction he heard the voice, to see the horned source sitting on a ledge with a menacing smile.
"General? Is that..." the Captain asked, a hint of fear in his voice.
"A retainer? Yes. Now get your unit out of here now," Arthur replied quietly, then began walking forward, Sylvie coming beside him.
"Hello Uto," Arthur greeted in a dark tone as his eyes narrowed on the sadistic Alcryan power house.
"Nice to see you remembered me too. I do like to leave lasting impressions on those that live to tell the tale of meeting me," Uto replied, as he noticed the Trailblazers trying to quietly retreat. "Oh no, we can't have anyone leaving early."
Suddenly a wall of black metal spikes shot out of the ground that nearly reached the ceiling, blocking any means of escape.
"It's so much more fun when there's an audience," Uto said with a sadistic grin, then dropped down from the ledge and started walking casually towards Arthur.
Arthur withdrew Dawn's Ballad from his dimensional ring as he and Sylvie started moving towards him, in effort to keep the fighting away from the Trailblazers. He wanted to break down the metal so they could escape, but his instincts told him that Uto would no doubt charge in and begin slaughtering them, and with people he cared about present he wasn't about to do anything too hasty just yet.
As he walked everyone parted out of his way, with looks of fear on nearly everyone's face. Arthur worked hard to keep the pressure of his core under control, so despite him being a Lance, they had no idea the power he held. That being said, Arthur could tell Uto was stronger, not by an overwhelming amount, but enough that he knew he would have to figure out Uto's magic quickly and would need to rely on every bit of his skills to secure victory.
"Art."
Arthur looks to the side to see Tess walking up to him. He can see a distinct difference in her, from the cold sweat running down, to the look in her eyes, fear. Fear that this opponent is too powerful for him, fear that he won't make it out of this battle alive.
"Don't worry, I'll be ok," Arthur says with a fake reassuring smile.
Tess reaches out and takes his hand. "Do you promise?" She asks, not believing his smile.
Arthur squeezes her hand back lightly. "Yeah, I promise."
Uto slaps his hands together. "Oh no, I've screwed up horribly!" He said frowning.
"Well I'm happy you realize that. Let everyone else out of here and I'll forgive you," Arthur replied with confidence.
However Uto paid no attention to Arthur's words. "From how you acted before I thought killing that Lady elf was enough to set you after me looking for revenge. But I was so foolish. There's no way you two had that kind of relationship." His eyes then locked on Tess, as a big toothy grin formed on his face. "I should have killed that princess instead."
Many eyes widened in horror, and Arthur stepped in front of her in a defensive manner.
"You see, I've seen people really give it everything they've got and fight at their best when they're out for revenge. Now if I don't do something I'm worried this battle will be disappointing." Uto's eyes widened and an evil smirk formed on his face. "You know what? I'm feeling generous. Bring me the elf Princess' broken body, and I'll let you all out of here alive."
Arthur and Tess looked around them, as all eyes were on her, many of which looked like they were considering the offer. Tess tightened her grip on her bladed staff, ready to fight off any of her former allies. The rest of her team, as well as Claire and hers took up a defensive stance around her, ready to protect their friend if needed.
Arthur could tell that the only thing keeping them back right now was him. The problem was, he couldn't have Tess near him as he fought Uto. Arthur knew of many ways to strengthen the resolve of troops, to essentially reset them from their current fear, but could only see one actually working here and now. He then activated Realmheart, and static void.
He knew he didn't have much time, so he used his spell, thunderclap impulse as time was frozen. Rocketing towards the retainer, he infused every element in his arsenal into his sword, that even in its damaged state, it still withstood the immense power no man made sword could. Once in range Arthur swung his sword, and when only inches from striking he released the Aevum spell. To everyone watching Uto disappeared from sight as he went flying and crashed into the chamber wall.
Arthur grit his teeth, as he was able to see a black mana seemingly come out of nowhere and block his attack right before his sword could make contact with Uto's neck. The force was enough to send him flying, but Arthur was confident he didn't deal any real damage.
"At least it wasn't a total fail. The atmosphere over here has completely shifted. I don't think we need to worry about Tess being in danger from her unit for now," Sylvie informed him.
"That's good at least. Come on over here, I'm going to need some ranged support if I'm going to be able to handle him," Arthur replied.
Clapping could be heard from where Uto collided with the rock wall.
"Now that's more like it!" Uto praised excitedly. "If you can keep that kind of intensity up you would be able to keep me entertained for at least a few minutes."
By the time the dust settled, Uto was standing there with a black harpoon-like weapon. "Now what is this? An Asura?" Uto questioned ecstatically as Sylvie arrived. "Oh Agrona will love hearing about this. I wonder what the Asura will agree to this time to avoid fighting?"
"You're forgetting one thing," Arthur said as he took a fighting stance, and Sylvie created several mana bolts floating around her. "You need to live through this fight to be able to tell him anything."
With that Arthur shot towards him, his body sparking with black electricity. He just stood there waiting as if he didn't see Arthur as a threat. A few feet before Arthur was in range to strike, Sylvie began a barrage of pure mana. However he paid her little attention, and raised a wall of black metal spikes to take the hits. Arthur swung his blade, only for it to be blocked by Uto's harpoon. Arthur then released a relentless assault of kicks and sword strikes, but even those that Uto didn't block with his harpoon, were blocked by his dark mana, which was as strong as any armor he'd faced, that showed up nearly instantaneously.
Determined to get past his defenses, Arthur pushed thunderclap impulse to its limits. Now moving at an unfathomable speed Uto started to appear to be starting to take him seriously, as his expression turned from bored to entertained while beginning to actually dodge.
As Arthur continuously tried to land a strike, he saw an opening on Uto's right side, but as he swung his sword he finally saw it. Using thunderclap impulse at its peak, he saw the dark mana rapidly move from a shadow under Uto's arm, to the point he was targeting. Acting quickly he redirected his blade, and managed to slice across his chest. Uto's speed seemed to increase even more as he swung his black harpoon to counter attack. Quickly Arthur dropped down and used piston stomp as he drop kicked Uto, pushing them both away from one another.
Uto skidded to a stop and Arthur jumped back onto his feet. The bandages around Uto's body had been mostly burned away, revealing a series of metal stud piercing on his chest, and an almost excited smile across his face.
"Thank you for not disappointing pup. It seems threatening that Princess was enough of a push for you," Uto said.
"FIRE!" The Captain yelled before Arthur could reply.
Arthur looked on in horror as an assault of spells of every affinity rained down on Uto. Seeing this even Sylvie joined in. Soon the spells died down, leaving Uto hidden in a cloud of dust. With a simple wind spell Arthur blew away the dust, revealing Uto seemingly unharmed with an annoyed expression.
"You were supposed to wait your turn, but I guess you're eager to die!"
Arthur suddenly saw a tremendous amount of dark mana forming under the others.
"SCATTER!" Arthur yelled, assisted by sound magic, as the memories Alea had shared with him of her encounter with Uto flooded his mind.
Black metal spikes began shooting up, ripping through anyone unlucky enough to be in the way of a spike. Multiple wind mages used wind spells to jump up to avoid the spikes, several grabbing the person closest to them to save them as well. Arthur was relieved to see Tess was one of those individuals, with an arm around Stannard's waist as she pulled him up with her. Theo lightened the gravity around him, allowing nearly half a dozen others to successfully jump out of the way with him. Several others tried to use elemental barrier spells to shield themselves from the attack, but the spikes cut through nearly all of the spells like they were nothing.
Arthur tried to cancel the spell as he did with other affinities, but this wasn't like the previous retainer's magic that looked like a mutated form of plant magic, Uto's just looked black. Nevertheless he had to try, and used all four elements, all of his deviations, and even pure mana in hopes of something working. Uto however seemed to be using his spell in patches, so Arthur could only target three spells. The result, the metal shot out significantly shorter, and became dull and brittle. It wasn't canceled like he wanted, but no one in those areas died from the spell.
"Hmm, that was interesting," Uto commented, then looked at Arthur with his head tilted and a curious look on his face. "I've never had anyone do that before." A toothy grin formed as his eyes widened in excitement. "You really are fun."
With that Uto shot off towards Arthur, thrusting his harpoon forward once in range. Arthur sidestepped and used his sword to redirect the attack, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold out if he tried blocking. Arthur twists and kicks Uto in the side using sound magic as he breaks off before he gets too close. The dark mana appeared again to protect him, but Arthur wasn't too concerned as getting some distance to launch another attack was his goal.
"Arthur, you need to see this!" Sylvie cried out through their bond.
"A little busy now," Arthur replied as he and Uto exchanged strikes.
"It's about his magic. Something weird happened when he attacked the Trailblazers."
"Are you sure it wasn't something I did?"
"I'm positive. The spikes completely avoided a few areas."
"What?! Was there anything special about those spots?"
"Some mages created fire barriers to protect themselves. Not only did the spikes stay away from them but several feet away too. Maybe fire is the key to beating him! It's metal so it makes sense."
In that moment every instance when Arthur saw Uto use his magic flashed before his eyes, as a theory formed.
"I think you're right, but not how you think. I think..." Arthur started to explain, before Uto managed to connect the butt of his harpoon with Arthur's stomach.
Arthur doubled over gasping for air while also coughing up blood as he backed away. In his distracted state of figuring out Uto's magic he had for a brief second left himself open to an attack. He was lucky it wasn't the sharp end, but with Uto's incredible strength it didn't make much difference, as he was wide open.
Uto's long arm quickly reached out and grabbed Arthur by the throat and lifted him up off the ground. "Well that ended fast," he commented, sounding disappointed.
The sudden jolt caused Arthur to drop his sword, leaving him grabbing and hitting Uto's arm as hard as he could, but the dark mana had already formed into a black metal sleeve to protect him.
"ARTHUR!" Sylvie screamed as she darted in, throwing bolts of pure mana.
Uto dodged or blocked every bolt, then throw his harpoon at Sylvie, piercing through her shoulder and pinning her to the chamber wall.
"No no no," Uto taunted while wagging a finger from his free hand. "Can't have you interfering. Besides, Agrona will probably want me to bring you to him alive, little Asura."
Uto then began to slowly squeeze Arthur by the throat as he heard screams in the distance coming from Tess, the sound of her voice sounding muffled as Uto's grip constricted his throat more.
"This is it? Is this how I die? But I can't, I can't die here, people need me," Arthur thought as his strength slowly left him.
Suddenly a vision of Sylvia flashed into his head, from all those years ago.
"NO! I'm not dying now! Once I die all that remains of Sylvia dies with me!"
With a surge of adrenaline Arthur grabbed Uto's hand around his neck and fought with all his might to pull his hand loose. Black lightning surged from Arthur and up Uto's arm, causing the retainer to have a pleasurable grin, however his hand wouldn't budge. Realizing he couldn't force Uto's hand open, Arthur decided to make him release him. Taking an idea from his past life, Arthur focused lightning magic into one hand, and sound magic into the other.
"Sylvie cover your ears and close your eyes!"
Arthur then slapped his two hands together right in Uto's face, essentially creating a flash bang grenade out of magic. Uto roared in pain from the sensory overload as he covered his eyes and stumbled away, releasing Arthur from his grip in the process.
Arthur crashed to the ground gasping for air, but he was focused now, and scrambled for his sword and he forced air into his lungs. He looked back at the retainer as he crashed into the ground, as metal spikes kept shooting up around him. Knowing this was the best chance to test his theory, he ran forward with a light emitting artifact in his hand. Holding the artifact over the ground the spikes stopped shooting out in the area where the light shined, and kept to the shadows.
"Got you," Arthur thought out loud as he raced up to Sylvie.
"Nice of you to stop by," Sylvie said through her teeth. "I'm just...hanging out."
"Well I hope you enjoyed your break then," Arthur teased as he pulled the harpoon out of her shoulder.
Sylvie gasped in pain, but it quickly subsided as her injury healed.
"I need light, and lots of it. The spikes only come from the shadows," Arthur explained.
"I can use my mana to create some, but it's a big space, I can't cover enough area," Sylvie replied.
"Just do the best you can, let's see if the trailblazers still have some fight left in them," Arthur said, then flew back to the ground as he saw Uto was recovering.
"FIRE MAGES! MAKE THIS CAVERN AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN!" Arthur yelled, enhancing his voice with sound magic.
"You'll regret that pup," Uto stated angrily.
"We'll see," Arthur replied, as a dozen pure mana orbs began to float around them, fire balls exploded in the air, and pillars of fire erupted from the ground.
Individually the spells wouldn't provide a significant amount of light, but together the inside of the cavern was very well lit from every angle.
"Happy to see you figured out my weakness, but do you honestly think you can win?"
Arthur took a fighter's stance and smirked. "Only one way to find out," he replied, then shot towards him.
Using a dim shadow Uto created a black pike, however instead of the shiny black harpoon, the pike's color was dull and faded looking. Uto tried to use his long reach to attack before Arthur could get into range, swinging the pike down at an angle. However Arthur was able to jump over it, and make his own downward strike. Quickly Uto backed away, narrowly dodging the attack, only suffering his nose being nicked. As the frustration became clear on Uto's face, Arthur became even more confident he was going to win, as he saw no sign of the dark mana trying to protect him.
The two clashed furiously, with Uto taking this battle far more seriously than he had expected. Arthur was relentless, destroying two pikes already, as they were far weaker than the harpoon from earlier. However he didn't let this go to his head, as Uto was still a terrifyingly strong opponent.
As the battle dragged on, the strain on Arthur's core from using Realmheart grew. He knew he didn't have much time left, so he had to kill Uto soon. That's when he saw it, a reoccurring opening for a lethal strike. It wasn't much, but Arthur knew he could do it. Arthur had taken notice that Uto's defenses were, even now, fairly solid, but he also moved in a pattern that left a small opening in his movements.
Once he saw the opening was coming up Arthur used his ice spell, absolute zero, and channeled it into his sword. Then as the opening showed itself Arthur lunged forward, ready to end this fight. As Arthur moved he noticed a change in Uto's demeanour, he was smiling. Arthur then realized the opening was a trap, as he was now casting a shadow on him.
A series of thin spikes shot out from Uto's chest, all on course to finish him off. The opening to finish Uto was still there, so Arthur refused to give up on his attack, but instead contorted his body in the air to avoid a lethal hit. Several spikes pierced his left leg, two through his left shoulder, and several through his torso, but none that would cost him his life. His momentum continued as the spikes ran clear through his body, until his blade pierced into Uto's chest.
As Uto's body crystallized, something unexpected happened. The force of the strike was enough to send Uto off his feet, and both of them into the larger pool of water.
The water in the pool froze near instantly as they fell in. After seeing Uto's body completely turn to ice he tried to get away, but found Uto's arms had moved to hold him in place. His vision began to blur as they sank, the water around them freezing as they passed through.
He felt cold and weak, his core ached. Arthur gave everything he had to defeat Uto, and now he had nothing left. His eyes closed as his hand slipped from his sword, and right before he lost consciousness he felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him away.