Paragon of Destruction

Arran cast a quick look around the area, searching for any enemies who still remained a threat. With a Knight only moments away, he could not afford any distraction, no matter how small.

Yet it took him only a moment to realize that no enemies remained — none who were in any condition to fight, at least. All those whose legs would still carry them had already fled, and the only ones who remained were either dead or dying.

The sight of the battlefield caused Arran some shock. Earlier, he'd been too engrossed in battle to fully notice the magnitude of the carnage, but now, he saw that it was even worse than he'd realized.

Hundreds of broken bodies littered the ground, and small streams of blood ran through the cracks between the cobblestones. Had Arran not caused the devastation himself, he would have thought it the aftermath of a clash between two vicious armies.

Still, he did not let his eyes linger on the sight.

Even with the deaths of hundreds of enemies to feed his Blood Ruin and bolster his strength, the battle ahead would demand his full attention.

Of course, his task wasn't to defeat the Knight. Rather, it was to keep his opponent from reaching the gate before Rannoc arrived.

After giving it a quick thought, Arran moved toward the center of the open space before the gate.

With the soldiers either fled or defeated, he no longer needed to worry about enemy archers riddling him with arrows. What mattered now was to have plenty of room to dodge and retreat, to delay the Knight for as long as needed.

He'd barely made it to the center of the clearing when the Knight came into view, tall and clad in a full set of starmetal armor, with a long starmetal sword and a short Living Shadow dagger at his side.

The man paused briefly as he stepped into the clearing, his head turning as he gazed at the bodies strewn across the ground.

Since the Knight was wearing a helmet, Arran could not see if there was any shock on his face. But when he turned toward Arran a moment later, he drew both his weapons, wielding the sword in his right hand and the dagger in his left.

Then, he began to move toward Arran, walking with cautious steps that nevertheless exuded the confidence of a skilled fighter.

The Knight's deliberate movements put an end to the first of Arran's hopes — that his opponent would be overconfident or timid.

Either of those would have given Arran an advantage, but instead, his foe showed only the practiced calm of someone who'd seen numerous battles.

A bad sign, Arran knew. Anyone who could look upon such a bloody battlefield and remain calm was someone to be taken seriously.

He took a defensive posture as the Knight approached him, waiting for his opponent to make the first move. Neither of them was familiar with the other's abilities, but time was on Arran's side — every moment the Knight spent testing his skill brought Rannoc's forces closer to the gate.

But of course, the Knight knew this as well, and he wasted no time in attacking.

The man's first attack was a tentative one, intended to force a reaction rather than to break through Arran's defense. But although his opponent clearly held back, Arran found himself struggling to defend against the Knight's blows, and he was forced to retreat several paces.

Brief though the exchange was, it was enough for Arran to realize that he was thoroughly outmatched.

While he believed — or hoped — that he was stronger than the Knight, his opponent's skill was beyond anything he could have imagined.

It was the kind of skill that could only come from insights, and even in the few short moments they'd crossed blades, Arran had already recognized hints of numerous different insights — more insights than he'd believed a single person could possess.

But although the exchange left him shocked, he maintained a calm expression. While he already knew he was outmatched, the Knight might yet believe that Arran was holding back as well.

That could not win him the fight, but it might buy him a few precious seconds.

Again the Knight attacked, more forcefully this time, and again Arran defended himself as best he could, throwing every shred of strength and skill he had into his parries and counters.

It was only barely enough. Once more, Arran was forced to retreat, this time with a small wound on his shoulder from the Knight's sword.

While the wound healed in an instant, how Arran had received it left him shocked. Because in the attack that struck him, he recognized one of the Knight's insights, and it was one he shared — severing.

The Knight's insight into severing was nowhere near as developed as his own, but it was enough to threaten him. And unlike Arran, his opponent clearly had numerous such insights.

At once, Arran understood that he could not afford to wait out the Knight's attacks. If he did, he would be defeated in moments. His only choice was to go on the offensive, where his strength and weapon might give him an advantage.

He attacked without hesitation, striking a rapid series of vicious blows at his opponent, each of them strengthened with his true insight into severing.

He hoped that the Knight would try to block one of the blows with his sword — if so, Arran's Living Shadow weapon would cut through the starmetal, damaging the Knight's weapon and giving Arran a much-needed advantage.

But instead, he found that his opponent dodged and deflected his attacks, moving with a speed far beyond what Arran could match.

Still, Arran did not let up. He continued to attack with all his might. It was the only choice he had — to force the Knight to defend and stop him from gaining the initiative.

Arran knew it couldn't last. With each strike he made, the Knight learned more about his abilities, and with every attack, he risked opening himself up to a counter.

But then, it didn't have to last. Arran could already Sense Rannoc's troops in the distance, and if he survived just a few more minutes, help would arrive.

Yet just as he felt some small hope, the Knight dodged another of Arran's attacks, then countered with a thrust so fast Arran had no chance to defend himself. And although he jumped backward instantly, the Knight's sword still left a deep wound on his chest.

The wound began to heal immediately, but the Knight did not let the opportunity go to waste. At once, he followed up with a combination of attacks that sent Arran scrambling backward.

Arran narrowly avoided the Knight's most dangerous blows, but in doing so, he was forced to leave openings in his defense. And within moments, the man's skillful strikes opened up half a dozen wounds on his body.

Still, it wasn't over. Sensing victory, the Knight pressed his advantage, with Arran retreating as fast as he could while desperately fending off the Knight's rapid strikes.

Only moments had passed since the Knight's first attack, but already, Arran found himself on the verge of defeat. His strength was of little use against someone whose skill was so far beyond his own, and with every exchange, his position worsened further.

And then, he stumbled, tripping over one of the many bodies that were strewn across the ground.

It took him only a fraction of a second to regain his footing, but already, he saw the Knight's attack coming — too fast for him to dodge or block.

He had lost.

Arran knew his death was only a second away, his sword too slow as he tried to block the weapon that was already rushing toward his chest.

Yet just when he was certain he would die, someone appeared between him and the Knight — Kaleesh, moving at a speed that could only be called inhuman.

The captain deflected the Knight's attack just in time to save Arran's life, then immediately launched a flurry of strikes at their opponent, his sword cutting through the air so fast Arran could only barely see it.

Kaleesh was faster than the Knight — much faster. And as his blows rained down on their foe, Arran briefly believed the Knight was on the edge of being defeated.

Somehow, however, the Knight weathered the barrage of blows, parrying and deflecting the captain's attacks through sheer skill. Even if the captain moved faster, the Knight seemed to block his attacks even before he launched them.

Arran had been shocked by the captain's speed, but now, he was doubly shocked to see that despite his speed, Kaleesh was still losing to the Knight.

Without hesitation, he joined Kaleesh in the attack, launching a series of furious blows at their opponent even as the captain continued to strike at the man with a barrage of impossibly fast attacks.

And still, the tide of battle did not change.

Even with both Arran and Kaleesh fighting with all their strength, it was obvious that their opponent still outmatched them, the insights that his skill contained too much for both Arran's strength and Kaleesh's speed.

The only difference was that although the Knight had earlier refrained from using his Living Shadow dagger, he now began to wield it in earnest, using it to block and parry one enemy's attacks as he used his sword to strike the other.

Soon, both Arran and the captain had received several superficial wounds. And although Arran's wounds healed instantly, the captain wasn't so lucky — before long, his body was covered in blood, and his movements were beginning to slow.

It almost seemed impossible, but somehow, this Knight who had neither Arran's strength nor Kaleesh's speed was defeating them both. And without too much difficulty, from the look of it.

But then, as the Knight blocked yet another of Kaleesh's strikes with his Living Shadow dagger, Arran saw an opening.

It wasn't a true opening — the Knight could easily block any attack Arran made. But this time, blocking was the Knight's only option.

At once, Arran attacked with every shred of power his body held, striking a blow so devastatingly powerful it could rend even a mountain asunder.

The Knight effortlessly blocked the attack — only to discover that his sword did little to stop Arran's weapon, which tore through it with ease.

As the severed blade of the Knight's sword fell to the ground, Arran struck again, once more bringing his weapon down with all his might.

Yet the Knight recognized the danger, and as Arran's sword came down, he blocked it with his dagger. And this time, Arran's attack was stopped mid-strike.

But even as their opponent blocked Arran's strike, Kaleesh attacked — a single thrust of his sword, deep into one of the eye-slits in the Knight's helmet.

It was a perfect strike, as vicious as it was accurate. And as soon as it landed, the fight was over.

The Knight collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, dead before he even hit the ground. For all his terrifying skill, it seemed that even he could not withstand a sword to the brain.

Neither Arran nor Kaleesh reacted immediately. Instead, they stood silently for several moments, eyes fixed the body of the man who'd nearly defeated them both.

That they'd survived owed more to luck than to skill. Had the Knight recognized Arran's weapon for what it was, he had little doubt that they'd be dead already.

Finally, the captain raised his head. "One moment," he said, then hurried off and began to search the bodies that lay on the ground around them.

Arran watched in wonder as Kaleesh scoured their defeated enemies' remains, but after just some moments, the captain found what he was looking for — a starmetal sword, which he held up triumphantly.

He returned at once, then quickly placed the sword in the dead Knight's right hand and picked up the man's broken blade.

"We'll discuss this later," he said. "But I expect our long-awaited guests to arrive any moment now."

Indeed, Arran Sensed that Rannoc's troops were only moments away from the gate, though they still moved at an excruciatingly slow pace.

"Let's go welcome Rannoc," Arran said, casting a wary look at the city, where he could Sense several other Knights moving toward them. "If more of these bastards show up, I'm not fighting them."

"That seems wise," Kaleesh replied in a flat voice. He glanced at the city, then added, "It wouldn't do to die only seconds before our saviors arrive."