Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 984: Blade Vs Shadows

Markus knew that the hero before him was the real one, and yet he felt the need to test him. Not to undermine his abilities or show off, but rather to test if he could stand to save the world as he claimed and, if not, why should he be allowed to journey off instead of taking care of his children? The royals mattered more to the dark knight, and as his blade was set ablaze like a phantom candle, he aimed it at the hero, ready to spar inside the energy-dampening spear cast inside the castle’s ward.

No words were exchanged as the two readied themselves, Raven with his dark blades and Markus with greatsword and curses. A large crowd had gathered around them, watching with bated breath. The weight of many eyes being on them was as much a burden as a fly on a giant’s shoulders. Neither paid the bystanders any heed as their battle had already begun.

"Here I come," Markus whispered, leaping forward.

A direct swing of his blade was headed for the hero’s head. Fast enough to be over in a blink, but with his agility enhanced and his mind clear of distractions, Raven let go of the blades and instead aimed his wrists in the path of the strike with his hands clad in a thick coat of dark iron and gelatinous flesh.

Connecting the blow, Markus felt the blunt iron halt the blow. The kinetic energy was absorbed by the gelatin, leaving but a mild tingling sensation rippling through the hero’s arms.

"Shadow step!" Disappearing into the knight’s shadow, Raven slipped behind Markus, ready to land his own blow. As he reappeared on the ground, however, the knight’s head turned around like an owl, and the rest of his limbs followed suit. "No bones, huh?"

"We’re not here to talk," Markus complained, lifting his feet off the ground for a kick.

Moving his hand just in time, Raven caught the blow in his hand and grabbed Markus by his feet. Coating the leg with darkness, he quickly took control of the inanimate armor and forced the knight to pull himself away.

"It has been a while since I leaned into my mage abilities rather than relying on corruption." A strong sense of exhilaration washed over the hero’s body. His mind was clear, and with the corruption rooted out of him, it was time for him to unleash his deceptive nature as a dark fae dark mage.

"I said enough talk!" Marked screamed at the top of his lungs, charging forward yet again.

This time, however, his blade ran clean through the hero’s body, yet the smile on Raven’s face remained. That is, until that very body disappeared entirely.

"Down here," he whispered, grabbed the knight by the legs, and pulled him into the ground.

Planting his feet halfway into the soil, Raven appeared in front of Markus with a ball of energy concentration around his right hand. Behind the helmet, the knight smirked and pulled his feet out of the ground underneath, but that gave Raven just enough time to punch Markus in the chest. And while the knight didn’t move an inch, his armor was dented in, and a blast of bright lights blinded the audience temporarily.

By the time the light returned to everyone’s eyes, the knight was standing with half of his armor melting off its spirit-body. His burning candle-like gaze was set upon the hero, and the next thing they knew, he disappeared like a flash of lightning. Blocking Markus’ blows, fist against fist, Raven found himself at the back end of his foot as direct confrontation wasn’t exactly his realm of combat.

"A THOUSAND CURSES UPON YOUR SOUL!"

"WHAT?!" Having heard the curse before, Raven’s mind froze as he was slammed back by a rather powerful blow from Markus’ fist. Hiding the caging dome of the dampening spell, he quickly propped himself back up to avoid the countless necrotic hands of dead lesser gods appearing all around him.

Like a giant’s shadow looming over him, there was no escape, none whatsoever. One touch from these hands and they would drag him into the realm of pain where a mere second of torment felt like a thousand years until eventually his body was spat out as an idol with an overgrowth of necrotic flowers that could wipe out legions.

’You can just shrink your body, you know!’ Hearing Natura’s voice, Raven snapped out of the dilemma and, without thinking at all, turned into a minute dark fae with multi-colored feathers. Each section of his wind was a reflection of the many fae mothers seeded within him. ’Now maneuver through!’

Threatened through the gaps between the countless hands, the hero jerked back and forth and side to side, dodging the swatting attempts by the hands as well as their attempts to enclose him with their fists. But as he reached the very middle of the curse, the hands had formed a sphere around him. Leaving no room to escape, and slowly getting smaller and smaller to crush his tiny body within.

"What now?" He murmured, trying to come up with a solution.

"Necrotic against holy, I think the answer should be simple, fae child." Illumina’s advice quickly snapped Raven out of the dilemma, and finally, truly feeling what he could do with these newfound powers, he closed his eyes and balled himself to begin concentrating on holy power.

Watching from the outside, everyone was at a loss for words. The hero was trapped within what appeared to be a spear of dead flesh with no signs of him escaping the deathpit. Even Markus was ready to undo the curse, having tested the limits of the hero’s ability. However, as a crack of golden light began parting the necrotic hands in numerous places, even he watched in silence as Raven burned away the curse by the sheer intensity of the purest, burning holy magic.

Emerging from within the charred flesh of dead gods, Raven’s body grew in size before eventually returning to his normal form. Feeling a bit rattled, he twisted and turned to relieve the tension inside of his aching muscles.

"That enough for you, Markus?" He asked.

"For now, yes." The knight replied.

Even so, the hero’s visit to Athenia wasn’t over. For before his departure, the queen wished to spend a night together with her child’s father.