The Black Witch's Gambit III

A calm breeze ran through the forest, gently shaking the branches of the trees as it went. I was staring down Stergos, the gentleman butler with a murderous glint in his eye. 

"Before we begin, please choose a weapon of choice," Flaur asked as she pointed to the coffer full of weapons again. 

My eyes once again trailed back to the magic staff. But, I knew no magic whatsoever- so that'd be useless. But, neither did I know how to properly use the other weapons either. 

What if... ah, that could give me a slight chance of victory. 

"I'll take the magic staff," I said confidently as I took it from the coffer. 

"You can use magic?" Flaur asked, surprised by this piece of information. 

I said nothing as I only gave her a knowing smile. The less I said, the better. I then shuffled back over to my side of the clearing. 

"The duel will commence at the clap of my hand!" Flaur proposed as she straightened herself up from her chair. Ashari was still feeling nauseous from her defeat and had propped herself up by the large oak, but she was watching. 

I had never been a fighter, this is a truth that has been apparent for my entire life. I play video games to live out my fantasies of being a gallant hero, and to see how far I can get with just using my brain. The times that I have fought here on Eos... well, it was no more than basic swinging that an elementary school kid could do. But due to the strength of this body, it had been elevated to powerful blows that swung in the blink of an eye. 

I could defeat an average goon, but Stergos was no average goon. I saw firsthand what he could do, especially now as he had just defeated Ashari without ever using his Morningstar. 

Flaur slowly rose her hands up in the air, keeping them just barely apart. She was enjoying this, watching this duel happen; maybe she too was a battle maniac? I wouldn't know, however, as I've yet to see her fight. 

If anything, her ancestor, the first Demon Queen, was a legendary warrior on the battlefield; her skill being only matched by the four generals of Aurum.

Stergos looked calm as he watched me from his part of the circle. He didn't seem the type to underestimate others, so when the match would start; he'd likely match whatever I dish out.

I looked down at my hands, I felt the firm weight of the staff in my palm; this was real, magic was real. Maybe, I would miraculously pop out a spell? Pfft, as if. I shouldn't rely on miracles, especially when I could use my brain. 

A few more seconds passed by and Flaur had yet to clap her hands; she looked like she was waiting for something. Then, the gentle breeze had died down, the air was stiff and silent. 

Clap.

Stergos immediately rushed out from his edge of the circling, beelining straight at me at a ridiculous speed. 

"W-Woah, what's with the switch up already!?" I shouted. 

"Do not play coy, Sir Ignis. Magic will not save you," He said as he shifted into a lunge and aimed his fist at my chest. 

Good, the bluff was working. 

I barely dodged his attack as the same effect from before happened, this heightened battle state that makes everything seem slower than it is. But unlike the mercenaries that I had fought, Stergos was only moving slightly slower. 

But just as I thought I had managed to gain some distance from him, he immediately twisted his body to deliver a low-spin kick. 

I wasn't fast enough to dodge it, and felt his legs connect with my ankles; the world around me spun as I flipped over into the air. 

I... I felt pain. It wasn't like the pressure from before, but real, actual pain. A dull pressure was concentrated on where my ankles had been struck.

"Hup!" Stergos grunted as he followed up the spin with an immediate kick into my stomach, sending me flying backward. 

I was seconds away from flying out of the clearing--

"Ack!" I shouted as I dug the staff into the ground, anchoring myself just in time before I flew out. 

"Woah!" I heard Flaur gasp as she saw me manage to stay in. 

That was too close for comfort, I nearly lost right off the bat! I noticed that my stomach didn't hurt nearly as much as my ankles, he had likely diverted strength for speed in that kick; hoping that it would be enough to push me out. 

But so far, everything is going more or less how I had predicted it would. 

Even though I don't know magic, I know the history of magic and sorcerers in CoE. 

Magic is a rare ability, and only a small number of Demons and Humans can perform it-- this being a result of latent magical ability, years of studying, and good ol' game design to keep something as OP as magic from destroying the game balance. 

Therefore, what I'm currently using to predict the flow of combat and how Stergos would act, is the assumption that he sees me as a high-risk threat now with the magic staff in my hand; hence his mad dash towards me to close the distance in the beginning.

"Is that all you got?" I mocked Stergos as I got up from the ground, readying my magic staff. 

Stergos said nothing as he only readied his fists. 

"You will lose, Sir Ignis," He stated as he suddenly disappeared from my vision. 

W-What!? Where the hell did he go-- 

"Behind you~"

Huh!? 

Turning around, I saw a gloved fist aimed right at my face; I knelt just in time to see it strike where my head was; the air popped at its impact point. 

I rolled away from Stergos, confused over who it was that just warned me. 

I shot a glance over to Flaur and Ashari, but they were too far away to have whispered that in my ear. 

"Excellent reaction time, Sir Ignis," Stergos praised me as he readied his stance again; it looked like he was about to pull off the same move again. 

Whatever it was, I don't think I could rely on it a second time to predict Stergos' next shift. It was time for me to up the ante. 

Here's hoping this old battle maniac knew his magic history. 

---

In CoE, there was a peculiar spell that had left an imprint on the lore of the world written by its developers.

Considered too costly to be an effective spell, it had only ever been used once. It was cast by the Arch-Sorceror Baal, a legendary figure in Ars Goetia. He had cast it in the cinematic that played when choosing Ars Goetia as your starting kingdom; dying shortly after in it's destructive wake.

At the price of eating nearly all of your lifespan, you could cast a kinetic spell that super-heated the mana in the caster's immediate surroundings to a sub-atomic level. 

To put it in perspective, it had the same destructive properties as setting off a hydrogen bomb in a controlled cone shape. 

The developers had decided to name it after a real-world event that had forever changed Earth's landscape, at the advent of an asteroid's impact; words given to Baal from the gods beyond time and space.

To the common people, the history of this spell is an unknown mystery in the canals of Demonic history. But, for those who have close ties to the Kingdom and its history...

They would know.

"Life's End, Death's Embrace: Tunguska Event." I chanted with a rallying shout as I pointed my staff at Stergos.

It looked as though the world had stopped for Stergos as I witnessed every ounce of tempered and vetted confidence in his face dissolve into an all-encompassing, soul-crushing fear. 

"YOUR MAJESTY!!!" Stergos hoarsely screamed as he bolted towards her, crossing the circle's edge.

I had just won. 

"It was a bluff, sorry to have played such a dirty trick--" I began to explain, but I was then distracted by the curious fact that my staff was trembling.

W-Wait, why was my staff glowing too!?

"W-What's going on!? Ignis, what are you doing!!" Ashari cried, confused as to what was happening. 

Why of all times, especially when it was supposed to be just a cheap bluff, that I'd find out that I could use Magic!?!

"RUN, RUN AS FAST AND AS FAR AS YOU CAN!!!" I screamed into the air, holding onto the staff as it began to violently rumble as the gem at its tip began to shine a prismatic kaleidoscope.

Hearing me, Ashari began to run, but she stopped herself as she saw Stergos protecting Flaur in an embrace. 

"WE HAVE TO RUN!" Ashari begged them, but suddenly, encompassing her as well, a massive magical barrier appeared around her and the other two; it had the same prismatic light as that of the staff's gem. 

"I've helped you out twice today, you owe me~" I heard the voice again, hearing it clearer now; it sounded like that of a young girl. 

"W-Who are you!?" I asked. 

"Just someone who's been keeping an eye on you, hehe~" She giggled. 

"Help me, please! I-I..." With no other options left, I pointed the staff to the sky. My hands were stinging with pain as not even my tolerance could withstand the heat that was emanating from the staff. 

"Mm, that won't do. Try...~" 

As I felt the surge of the Magic travel from the depths of myself into the staff, my chest went into a chaotic swirl as the rhythm from my heart fell into a dead silence. 

I was about to die, the spell was going to kill me along with everything else around me; at least those inside the barrier would survive...

But just as I felt the last bit of strength escape from my arms, thin ghostly hands appeared on the staff.

The voice then softly whispered into my ear as the ghostly hands pushed the staff back down and aimed it directly at my chest. 

"Take it, swallow it whole; that is your destiny~,"