Roars Of A Dozen Dragons
From the rather insignificant fireball rose a colossal and magnificent dragon that could melt nearly everything within a moment. The dragon covered the entire dungeon and continued to expand, scorching everything in its path. Due to the limited space, the dragon was unable to rise in its entire glory. However, the lightning made up for that disadvantage.
Lightning and fire joined together, incinerating the Soul King's body for minutes on end...
Before the flames had exploded completely, Aerion and Helia had left for the upper floor and sealed the entrance right after. The ferocious flames burned through the door and continued onwards.
Aerion swiftly retreated to the very top of the cellar while the lightning-flames continued to burn everything in sight and expand further. He opened the entrance and retreated back into the palace before the lightning-flames reached him. In the end, both Helia and Aerion got away safely. The entrance withstood the onslaught of the flames with great ease, as if it were no more than a little spark. At least, it seemed so.
He turned to the entrance and decided to wait for a little while. Until the flames settled down, to be precise.
My control over magic still needs a lot of work...
"Was that enough?" Aerion glanced at Helia. He was quite confident of his abilities so there was little doubt in his mind but it was good to make sure.
"Perhaps... it would be best to stay vigilant just in case-"
As the palace began to rumble once more, a burst of sinister laughter followed. It had originated from below the cellar and only continued to grow louder as the flames weakened. With every moment the source of this laughter drew closer and closer. Aerion carefully withdrew from the entrance, fearful of the worst.
"Viserys, tell everyone to retreat from the palace. Immediately."
Viserys nodded and moved with haste.
"Hahahahaha..."
Rumble... rumble...
Then it stopped.
Crack... BOOM.
A barrage of countless ghastly blades pierced through the entrance and flew directly towards the living. Aerion formed a raging inferno around himself for protection while Helia summoned a wall of lightning and sent forward several more waves of lightning to destroy the swords.
Unfortunately, the Soul King aimed his attack towards one person at the very last second. He targeted Helia, whose lightning was noticeably weaker yet more irritating.
Pierce... pierce... pierce.
In the blink of an eye, Helia fell to the ground with over a dozen through her.
Meanwhile, the Soul King emerged from the cellar. Most of his upper left half was incinerated completely while the rest of his body was gravely scorched. Without a left arm and with the rest of his body in the condition that it was, the Soul King wasn't quite as formidable. But... he was more desperate.
As Aerion glanced towards the dead Helia, he felt the chains binding him shatter. His feelings towards her death were... complicated, to say the least. Part of him was glad while the other was regretful. Unfortunately, the Soul King standing before him wasn't going to stand around and wait for Aerion to ponder on the matter.
"I don't know what you did... but I am free. For that, I am most grateful! So grateful that I shall grant you the great honour of serving directly under me." The Soul King's emerald gaze was entirely focused on Aerion.
"Your flames burn with such ferocity... such beauty... such rage!" He raised his greatsword and pointed it towards Aerion. "It would be a waste of great magnitude for someone such as yourself to perish in this insignificant place... wouldn't you agree?"
"Come, join me and I will help you complete every ambition that you have. In exchange, you will grant me your undying loyalty..."
"I bend to no one."
Aerion condensed the inferno around him slightly, strengthening the flames closest to his body.
"Perhaps... you do not understand the situation that you are in, Soul King."
"You're standing on your very last legs with only a single hand. Your magic vitality must have been drained by quite an amount when you struck the killing blow to Helia. While your powers continue to fade... I have an endless source of fire to fuel me."
Aerion smirked. "I believe that it is I who should be granting the honours of vassalage, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hahahaha... and where is this endless source of fire?"
Aerion walked to Helia's corpse and assumed control of her undead before they began to fade. This 'endless source of fire' referred to the eighteen greater undead dragons in the sky and sixty-three Soul Knights within the city. Helia's Soul Knight equivalent utilised lightning which wasn't ideal so they were sent to guard the living instead of joining the battlefield.
He opened his palm, using Aeromancy to break the ceiling and shove it away into the sky. This action revealed a terrifying sight for most; eighteen dragons, all of which were grown, staring down onto the floor of the palace.
ROAR, ROAR, ROAR!!!
Dozens of roars filled the sky as flames descended onto the ground and set everything on fire. These flames were mostly directed towards Aerion, who used them to add to his strength. Some did burn the Soul King but not by much as his fire resistance was quite formidable. Once the first wave of fire passed, all sixty-three Soul Knights had already broken into the place and surrounded the cellar.
"How about you trip on your sword and save me the trouble, hmm?"
Aerion mocked the Soul King while he began to condense the flames using the method of his Soul Knights.
"It seems that I've made a severe mistake by leaving that cellar." The Soul King chuckled. "How are you going to slay me, I wonder?"
"With this blade."
Aerion condensed his flames into a magnificent scarlet bastard sword and grasped it with both hands.
"Intriguing choice." The Soul King remarked as he prepared to guard himself.
First, he gathered dozens of ghastly blades and sent them towards Aerion, who then increased the intensity of flames and burned through them all with a slash.
He charged forwards, aiming for the Soul King's chest. The Soul King deflected the blow and pushed his greatsword to Aerion's chest but he gracefully stepped to the side, avoiding the counterattack.
He's slower than before...
Aerion turned his blade from the right side to the left from behind his head. Then he swung the blade across the Soul King, aiming to diagonally slash him in half. Inches away, he turned the angle of the flaming sword towards the Soul Kings neck as the Soul King was going to block the original strike.
Aerion's sword slipped past the Soul King's greatsword and burst towards his head.
"You win."
Slash...
The Soul King's head rolled onto the ground, separated from the rest of his body. Aerion pierced his sword into the centre of the Soul King's fallen body and watched it burn away into ashes. Then, he finished what he started.
Aerion stabbed the head and set it aflame, burning the last remnants of the Soul King.
The Soul Knights had watched in silence... until now. A thunderous round of clapping and cheering rumbled across the ruins of the palace, celebrating the grand victory of their Lord.
"There is no greater duelist than our Lord!"
"So swift, so decisive, so powerful!"
Aerion released emerald flames from his hand and grabbed the souls of the fallen mages. He wanted to make use of their strength, in the end. Whether they were alive or undead while serving him, did not matter (although he preferred the undead).
After dispersing his flaming sword, Aerion grabbed the gauntlet that survived his flames and was notified that he had attained one of the Soul King's gauntlets. He then observed the Soul King's greatsword which was named; Tyrant's Blade.
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The Soul King's Gauntlet:
A part of the Necromancer King's set. Made of a pitch-black material superior to that of both obsidian and valyrian steel, these gauntlets are nigh-indestructible. Emerald runes carrying powerful magic strengthen the gauntlets further and grant them magical properties. With the Soul King's gauntlets equipped and activated, a mage can drag souls from countless corpses without using their own magic vitality. The cost of all soul summoning is halved with both gauntlets equipped.
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Tyrant's Blade:
A long, terrifying, greatsword capable of cutting through everything with enough force and a good amount of magic. Even valyrian steel is comparable to butter when put against such a blade at its full force. Furthermore, the blade itself is enhanced by magic like the rest of the Necromancer King's set. It is the sword of the dead; a sword that turns all who are slain by it into obedient undead. This effect grows with the strength of the user, resulting in stronger undead.
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Aerion lifted the greatsword with surprising ease. Its weight was similar to that of a valyrian steel greatsword, allowing for greater speed. Although Aerion wasn't too fond of using greatswords due to their impractical size and greater weight, the Tyrant's Blade was an exception.
He stabbed the greatsword into the ground for now and walked down to the cellar to search for the other gauntlet. After searching through the rubble for a few minutes, he found the gauntlet alongside a star-like shard. According to the system, this star-like shard was the key to the 'Blessing of the Lord'. He put the shard in his pocket and grabbed the gauntlet before leaving the cellar for good.
The gauntlets did not match his clothing but he put them on anyway, deciding to get some fitting armour later. They did not fit at first but the gauntlets adjusted to his size within a few seconds. Unfortunately, he could not find a sheath in the armoury that accommodated his new greatsword. He would've liked to have the Tyrant's Blade strapped across his back like Ser Arthur had Dawn strapped across his.
After he was done with his new equipment, he turned to the city of Oros.
As Aerion descended from the palace, it was not hard for him to realise that Helia had turned it into a ruin. The palace had been the last building untouched by dragonfire... until now, of course. Most of the residents had died during Helia's slaughter while the rest managed to escape. In the end, no one alive remained in the walls of Oros apart from those within Aerion's party.
Viserys and Jaime returned to Aerion once they were informed that the battle was over by one of Helia's Soul Knights.
"I take it that you completed the trial this time?" Jaime spoke.
"Indeed, I have. At the cost of an ally... but that cost has benefitted me, in the end." Aerion smiled as he thought of the blood contract being shattered. "As a result of this great victory, we are not far from the end of the great trial."
...
Emerald flames rose and summoned three familiar faces... those of his Kingsguard who had fallen. Aerion looked towards the rebirthed Ser Arthur and gave him his blade; the mighty and beautiful Dawn.
"Rise, my great Kingsguard!"
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