The Duel

For the next month after the incident, Simon grew more comfortable into his role as Lazar's personal butler to the point the initial reason he started doing the work was completely lost. Stephen was always a threat and that was obvious. Although Lazar tried hiding his actions and strongly worded letters aimed both at Stephen and at his father, Simon knew in the shadows the red leather clad prince of Carpathia was always watching. He was fuming but he was also patient. For a whole month he took no action, Stephen simply observed and it had to be questioned. Was his presence willingly shown as to keep Simon on guard or was it born out of the inability to hide it? Was Stephen purposefully leaving clues to keep Simon on guard although he was no longer interested in any form of vengeance? Well.

So it happened that one late evening in early autumn, Lazar charged Simon with bringing a letter to one of his fellow heroes in the tower. The letter, beautifully hand written on pure white, hand made paper with golden trims and perfumed ink was destined for the eyes of another senior hero in the tower, the 77th hero Yue Fei.

Receiving the letter from Lazar he takes it out of his study and into the large apartment which was modelled after a cosy old home with wooden walls, a dark wooden floor, very well polished, carpets, antiques and much more. Because of the dark interior the rooms appear smaller and more cramped that they actually are but that's how Lazar prefers it, to the point the ceiling was lowered nearly two metres by his demands. Regardless, Simon leaves the apartment and enters the hallway which leads to the elevators. The tower is build around a central shaft which holds more than 400 elevators inside. Created by Leo's monstrously complicated design, each floor has it's own elevator which rests inside a pocket separated from the main shafts. There is always an elevator on each floor at all times since there are 4 elevators for each floor, one for going up and one for going down with two spares. The elevators themselves are fuelled through induction and move up, down, left and right through electromagnetism which would be a nightmare to work on if not for Leo's ability to continuously keep the whole tower in perfect conditions. The elevators can either go through the internal shafts or the external ones which have a view over the city but few chose to take those since too many people point their telescopes at the tower, hoping to get a view of their favourite hero although that is impossible since from afar the elevators are reflective and the image inside is disturbed.

Although all heroes are allowed inside the tower and somewhat respected, for someone from the lowest 10 levels to go higher than the 90th floor from the bottom would be a terrible idea since the higher level heroes have a tendency to bully if not outright throw them back down, through the hopefully empty elevator shafts. Also, if one gets the bright idea to skip stages and attack someone from a floor not explicitly above theirs, unless it is a regulated duel the fight will be punished. The peace and tranquillity of the higher ups must be kept, thus the lower heroes cannot just barge in gun blazing to reach a higher position.

For someone like Simon who isn't even a hero, to climb a higher level would be suicide, however, since he is bearing news on behalf of an actual member of the tower and has been instructed to do so, he is politically immune from the consequences. Although protected from the heroes' wrath, it would still be foolish to bring an insult directly to number 4's floor. Nevertheless, Simon is on a mission to bring that letter to Yue Fei and so he will do. As he enters the elevator, nothing unusual happens, noticing how other people are moving up and down through the other side of the building, the working side which has its own set of elevators separated from those of the heroes. Nobody would mistake him for a hero though since he is wearing an uniform and a badge on his shoulder which indicates his role. It could be for protection, it could be because people don't know it yet, but unlike Simon, Leo wears completely casual clothes but at the same time he appears to be more than the simple servant he proclaims himself to be.

"Oh, you mother fu*ker!" Simon hears through the elevator shaft and as he looks to his left Stephen was descending the tower when he noticed him. Simon's eyes open wide and thinks nothing will happen but suddenly spears erupt through the elevator shaft and stops both elevators, each one floor of distance from the other. Floor 79, two floors away from Yue Fei. Certainly if Simon is to bring the letter to Yue Fei, Stephen won't follow him inside or hopefully the 77th hero won't allow Stephen to torment Simon any further. Lazar's floor was too far away, that was his only choice. Thus Simon starts running as fast as he can, climbing the stairs which lead to the upper floors.

"I'll get you and I'll impale you!" Stephen shouts while using his spears to propel himself up the stairs faster. Thinking fast Simon does the exact same with the few weapons still left inside his body after the incident and the two appear equal in speed. Simon though was a rabbit and extremely scared and that allowed him to climb and run faster than he ever could, reaching Yue Fei's door before Stephen could exit the staircase. Simon knowing he was still in the presence of a hero, he presses the doorbell only once then waits for Yue Fei to answer. His heart was beating fast, Stephen was just about to reach him.

"I see you!" Stephen shouts jumping forward towards Simon who was not very scared of his spear however the blood-lusted chaser stops when the door opens and Yue Fei answers.

"What is going on here?" He asks with an angry tone.

"I am here to bring you a letter from Lazar sir." Simon says handing the letter forward for Yue Fei to take. The 77th hero reads the letter but with one eye keeps Stephen in his sight.

"And you? Why are you here? Why are there cuts all over the floor in front of my apartment?"

"It doesn't concern you 77. I'm here for this worm."

"Are you now?" Yue Fei says stepping forward, one hand gripping an unsheathed Chinese straight sword.

"Number 77 vs number 61? How much is the difference in power between them? Are they going to fight?"

"If you want to raise your spear against a fellow human there is only one way to do so! In a honourable duel, where you can be humiliated just as much as you can humiliate your opponent. Do not attack this man who cannot defend himself against you."

"He can defend himself well enough. He has powers just like I do!"

"Is that true?" Yue Fei says interested. "Yet you work as a servant for Lazar?"

"I have powers yet they aren't usable in combat, or rather they are too weak for combat against the alien threat."

"I should be the one to decide that. Stephen, son of the dragon but a mere lizard yourself, if you want to be taken seriously you will join us inside and then we'll all wait for Lazar to arrive then my will, will be done." Yue Fei says opening the doors for the two to enter. Simon is about to step forward but then a spear jumps from the ground making it clear that Stephen wants to be the first through the door. The two enter and Stephen acts as if he's inside his own apartment while Simon waits for further instructions.

"Both of you will sit quietly on the balcony of the second floor which opens towards the dojo. I will be there soon after I make a call." Yue Fei says instructing the two. The way was quite complicated thanks to the sheer amount of furniture and decorations Yue Fei had but as the air got cleaner from the incense he was burning, the way towards the dojo was obvious. Surprisingly it was filled with people, around twenty men were sparing with wooden weapons, either spears, axes, swords, swords and shield and so forth. All type of weapons were present and some were even training holding guns in their off hands.

"Vermin inside the tower. I should cleanse them all." Stephen says looking down at them, both literally as well as metaphorically. Those were humans, not one of them had powers yet their movements were inhumanly precise and swift and their strikes resounded with equal strength to when Lazar killed the smugglers. Simon is captivated by their movements and he cannot take his eyes off them, hands desiring to swing those weapons too, feet twitching on the chair as if dodging the attacks, countering, parrying. His whole body aches to copy those men.

"Do you have no shame? You're eyes are looking at them as if they're doing something. It's all useless, one strike from my powers and they'd all be impaled through and through."

"Are you so sure? I am confident you wouldn't be able to defeat all twenty of them at once."

"You want to try? There's a reason I'm number 61 and you're 77. Your technique cannot surpass the gap in power!"

"It is sufficient for my point to be proven."

"You have no place in here!"

"What are they talking about? Could it be?"

"What you're thinking is true. I have no powers." Yue Fei confirms. He sits in his chair, overlooking the men sparing. Soon after one of his students brings four cups of tea with a kettle and his cigars. Yue Fei lights up one of them and a small round device on the table activates, absorbing all the smoke from his cigarette.

"When Lazar reaches us the two of you will fight. A non lethal duel, if Stephen wins then the debt you had towards him is completed. If you win, Stephen will stop acting like an imbecile."

"I don't believe there's a reason for us to fight. I should have tried it sooner but it was impossible to approach you. I wanted to apologise for my actions back there. Being under threat from the Kuiper and the shock, my behaviour wasn't proper and..."

"Go to hell, because of you I was humiliated."

"Butler, explain." Yue Fei says letting out a mouthful of smoke. Simon does as asked and Yue Fei listens without saying a word. The more the story goes on the more Yue Fei struggles to keep his composure but more than the details of Stephen's humiliation he is interested in Simon's ability.

"That's enough!" Yue Fei says standing up and looking at the clock. "Lazar should have been here ten minutes ago, what is holding him up?" But just as the sword master was losing patience, Lazar enters the dojo slightly out of breath.

"You would expect, in a place like this for the elevators to work but the whole tower is clogged!" He says fixing his clothes and grabbing a drink one of the students brought him. "Now then... seeing that we have two other guests I believe our night won't go the usual route."

"Indeed. We won't be making the usual bets tonight 89. We will be entertained by these two." And then Lazar became a little bit concerned he believed in a real battle there was no chance for Simon to win.

"The boy, although filled with potential has no skills in battle. He will be beaten for Stephen's satisfaction alone."

"Then so be it, let the pain come to him now as we will watch that his life is not snuffed out by the misguided desire of vengeance. But, if by some miracle your butler manages to defeat this overwhelming foe, then there will be no other debt of honour and the situation will end. Have I made myself understood prince?" Here, Stephen was forced to accept as two of the wisest and most revered members of the tower, outside the top 10 were asking him to make a promise and step over his pride in order to end a difficult situation crafted by his own design.

"I shall agree but I will be very specific when I say I'll stop short of killing him." Hearing those words Simon accepts the fact he will be thoroughly beaten, but alas, he accepts it as that will free him from Stephen's shadow.

"Then let us descend towards the dojo and allow me to set the rules into place as to spare my home from devastation. The walls of the dojo are reinforced as to allow the indoor use of high calibre firearms, they are quite strong and resilient but they cannot withstand the power of any of the 100! Do not destroy my house! This is a duel and not a homicide!" Yue Fei says with a stern tone. The four start walking down the stairs and into the dojo where the students move away and behind a glass door, all siting on their knees, waiting for their master's instructions.

"Before the duel takes place, allow me a demonstration. Allow me, to show you what you have been observing from above all this time." Yue Fei says taking his sword. He holds it with one hands in the middle of the dojo while one of his students brings in a rifle.

"This is just a demonstration, not practice. Three shots in a burst please!" Yue Fei orders and the student obeys. Three shots are fired and Yue Fei deflects all the bullets.

"I can do the same. I can impale the bullets in mid air with my spears. What is it so spectacular?" Stephen comments unimpressed. Yue Fei looks back, unimpressed as well.

"That is a technique created during the first wave of invasions in the years 2041. It has been honed and tempered throughout the ages, starting from the mastery, by a gifted individual up to the point humans without special abilities are capable of recreating it."

"After I beat the worm, want to test it against a real fighter? I can show you overwhelming power can overthrow great skill."

"What happens when you have both?" Yue Fei says throwing his sword at Simon who was watching the demonstration with great attention. He understood it, the basics of what happened, of how the bullets were destroyed, but he wouldn't know where to start from and how to recreate it.

"It is good practice to show a display of skill before a duel. The composure before battle, steeling the heart as not to lose focus." Yue Fei says waving his hand into the air, moving out of the way:

"Take your positions and do battle!" He shouts and the two are ready to fight. Immediately dozens of spears erupt from the ground, passing harmlessly through Simon's body. No matter the size, the speed or the force of impact, the spears cannot harm him.

"These attacks could never hurt me. I am a living armoury, all weapons of war will never be able to hurt my body."

"That's just fine, I'll just beat you to death." Stephen says grabbing one spear and heading to fight hand to hand against Simon but once more the attacks have absolutely no effect. Stabs to the eye, throat, groin, nothing can hurt him.

"Your opponent has given you an explanation of his abilities. You cannot hurt him with your spears yet you're not changing your tactics."

"Come now Yue Fei, you're giving advice to the 61st hero in the tower?"

"You should be the first to understand why I do it. We're blessed by having to fight against enemies we understand. The Kuiper, the Oortians, all behave in a way and act in a manner we can counter. Fighting against ourselves though... The 100 are placated by being treated as gods but some go rogue, some are even more avaricious than that and what happens when the common enemy is defeated? Will the Alocyneu who granted you these powers return to life to take them back?" Yue Fei makes a dissatisfied look and stops thinking about grim possibilities in the future.

"Change your strategy or I will call this duel a win for the butler. He is not fighting back!" Yue Fei says as Simon stands still, allowing Stephen to strike him with his spears endlessly.

"I know how to kill even without my powers." Stephen says aiming a punch at Simon's throat but that was a mistake. As soon as his fingers made contact with Simon's neck, his knuckles started bleeding while his opponent was completely unscathed.

"Have you noticed I wasn't holding the sword any longer? It is already inside my body, I can make it manifest from wherever I want, even from inside my stomach." The moment Stephen's fist was about to hit him, Simon conjured forth the blade of the sword and placed it between his neck and Stephen's hand. He further reinforced his neck with the wooden spears he still kept inside his body, thus not only nullifying the blow, but completely countering and damaging Stephen while doing so.

"Are you looking down on me?" Stephen says having figured out a way to defeat Simon without touching him:

"You might be able to pass through my spears, but there is something my spears can do to defeat you!" A couple dozen spears pass through Simon's head, blocking his nostrils and mouth from taking in air.

"I can still suffocate you to death! Even if you move, even if you run, my spears will keep covering your face until you fall!" And he was right. Stephen kept covering Simon's face in spears until he stopped moving and fell to the ground immobile.

"That's enough!" Yue Fei says stopping Stephen from truly suffocating Simon to death. Lazar uses his intangibility and pulls Simon out of the forest of spears before it became too late. He fainted and lost the battle but possibly he won the war.

"Are you satisfied now? This boy is innocent in your humiliation, if you want to take revenge on someone, then go hurt the real culprit and not him." Lazar says checking Simon's vitals. The other students join him in administering first aid to Simon. Not a moment after they've done fighting they realise someone has been knocking at the door insistently. A student goes and opens it, hurrying back pale.

"Master, mister Mauer is here."

"Where is he?" Leo bursts in fuming. "Where is the responsible for the damage done to my tower?" Leo shouts knowing Stephen was in there. All the good mood he managed to muster from his victory was gone as the shouting seneschal of the tower gets in his face.

"We do not dirty the house which welcomes us son." A voice in a thick Carpathian accent says, silencing Leo.

"King Alexandru!" Yue Fei says actually bowing before the king. It was instinctive, few men alive instil such feelings, few hold such a presence as the king. The whole room went completely silent, all the spears risen from the ground break into nothing. The king takes a step forward as if dismounting from a horse. He was as tall as Stephen but his build was far more muscular. His hair was blonde, not jet black as his son and his upper lip was crowned by a thick moustache which completely covered it but besides that his face was perfectly shaven. His cheeks were a little sunken in, his eyes were dark and deep and surrounded by just a hint of wrinkles. The king was wearing a long dark cape which covered his segmented armour which had a terrible dark lustre, nearly smoking as if some dark fog was hidden between the plates. His steps were heavy, his breathing was heard throughout the room.

"You shall be barred from the privileges of the tower until the reconstruction work is done." The king says disappointed. He was now standing in front of his son and his presence was truly making the prince appear like a lizard standing in front of a dragon. His shoulders were raised as if to protect his neck, his back was tense, Stephen was ready for punishment.

"Lion, having my subjects repair the tower will take time in compare to your swift repairs, but I wish to know from them the length it will take to repair it as well as the cost. My son will lose his position as the 61st hero until the work would have been completed. As for the compensation, I will see to it." The king says turning towards the already calmer Leo. He turns back towards Stephen.

"You will return to your mother in Carpathia until I give you the right to call yourself a hero again. You will abandon your quest for vengeance. Am I clear?"

"It was not this man who humiliated me, it was..."

"Am I clear boy?" Alexandru shouts and whole room is blasted by his voice. Even the unconscious Simon turned away from the king as if to protect himself from danger.

"Yes sir." Stephen answers.

"I am sorry for having you witness this gentlemen. Carpathian matters should be discussed behind the mountains of our homeland." The king says taking Stephen away. Immediately after Leo leaves as well to repair the elevator shafts and the atmosphere returns to normal.

"Good thing your protege wasn't awake to witness this. We might be low ranking heroes in this tower, but such a display would have been shameful." Yue Fei says still shaken by the presence of the 18th strongest hero in the world.