The Achievement Junkie

"Retreat now, or die!"

Halmut sighed, shaking his head as he reverted to his hybrid form not much bigger than Skaryn's human self. "Skaryn… Why? I deserve to know that much."

"Your addiction to power has been your weakness all this time, Halmut. I don't want to kill you. But if you dare remain here another second, I won't be able to contain my rage any longer," Skaryn stated as his body showed signs of turning demonic.

The citizens closest to the fight were completely stunned. They had just witnessed Halmut directly attacking them, something that shouldn't have happened within the agreed terms of the Godly War, and they saw the Skaryn casually repel the attack. A rollercoaster of emotions torrented their minds as the people wanted to flee but were unable to run before such overwhelming power.

Many citizens dropped to their knees in prayer or watched the battle with shouts of encouragement for their savior above them. All they could do was hope that Skaryn could deter Halmut and claim ultimate victory.

More than ten thousand years had passed since Skaryn's forced reform of the island nation's politics, so no one knew or remembered that Skaryn was the nation's savior of the past. However, Skaryn's legacy as a god was deeply rooted in the people as they had always regarded Skaryn as a savior-like being, despite how many nations depicted him as a devil. Now, the current generations living on Kustram could witness their savior and add validity to their firm beliefs.

Both humanoid figures stood in the air. Not a word more was said.

One arrogantly stood with dazzling gold scales adorning his body. His almighty appearance was completed with claws, a tail, and three horns jutting from his forehead, the largest at the center and two others from the corners of his hairline.

One was draped and clothed in shadows. His devilish appearance was accentuated by a demonic aura and two black, draconic wings sprouting from his back. Long, pointed claws extended from his fingertips as the man embraced his demonic form, seemingly just as draconic as the hybrid dragon before him.

Another second passed in silence. Their eyes, however, said more than either could bear to listen. Deep, scathing regret and pure, unadulterated rage were evident in Skaryn's gaze, compared to the overwhelming disappointment and unfazed determination evident in Halmut's eyes.

Finally, they each made their first move.

Throwing themselves through the air, Halmut and Skaryn let their physical bodies clash directly. Neither used any special attacks or tricks. It seemed uneventful but still created an invisible shockwave as the two attacks collided.

"Hmm… You're definitely not as strong as I remember…" scoffed Halmut.

With cautious eyes, Skaryn asked, "How many stimulants have you taken, Halmut? There's no way you could've--"

"Die and shut up!"

Halmut roared and attacked a second time, no longer hiding strength or pulling punches. Holy energy coated Halmut's claws, turning them into make-shift holy weapons, as a multitude of energies gathered around that holy energy. The Sun Dragon thrust forward with one claw as he followed up with a slash of his second claw.

Skaryn shouted a battle cry as the density of his dark, demonic energy increased drastically. He attacked in counter to Halmut, forcing the claws aside and coming out of the exchange unscathed. This was due to the many faint streaks of various colors within the demonic energy. Apart from the abundant dark energy, hints of blue, pale yellow, dark yellow, and white were evident all around the Dark God.

Again, they clashed! The two men eagerly shared attack after attack as they tested their opponent, properly searching for a remnant of weakness to exploit.

"Ha! Not bad!" shouted Halmut, still acting confident and unbeatable. "You shouldn't have come, Skaryn. Now that you're here, I have no choice but to kill you!"

"Just die already!" Skaryn replied with a yell. "Seeing your face is too much, so I'll have to eradicate it!"

Neither of the former allies showed any mercy. They were laying into each other with every morsel of strength feasible. Both were darting around and practically teleporting, as seen through the eyes of the spectators below. Their incredible speed and unmatched will to win drove them across the sky in every which way.

Clouds were dashed away. Oceans were momentarily sliced in two. Tempests ravaged the sky.

All Kustram citizens able to view the battle were in awe. They understood that there was nowhere on the planet that any citizen could go to escape death. Their only hope was the man known as the Dark God, or simply named the Devil by others, like Halmut.

"Give it up!"

As Skaryn began to elevate his attacks further, Halmut snicked. It took a moment but Skaryn felt the movement of abundant holy energy yet again.

The Dark God rushed away and sent out a pulse of dark energy to cancel out the newly falling pillar of light. It was destroyed to the great pleasure of the watching mortals and the dismay of Skaryn.

"You shouldn't have come, Skaryn… On this battlefield, your greatest weakness is easily exposed," laughed Halmut.

Not giving in to the laughter, Skaryn sent another dark pulse of energy hurtling toward the Sun God.

But Halmut only laughed harder as he took the attack head-on with arms open wide. His deep laughter filled the air as the dark energy enveloped the Sun God completely and continued as the dark energy naturally dispersed. Halmut stood in the same spot, unscathed and unhurt.

"You… What've you done to yourself now?" questioned Skaryn.

Smiling wide, Halmut responded, "You dark energy is powerless against me, even the draining miasma you're so proud of!"

"But--"

"It's useless! Whether you know why or not doesn't matter," argued Halmut. "Either way, you'll die here. The only question that remains unanswered is whether Kustram or you will vanish first?"

Another pillar of light fell toward a faraway edge of the island nation, forcing Skaryn to defend yet again.