Chapter 520: Not a Game, but an Execution
I was ready to intervene and stop the madness before someone got hurt.
So I opened my mouth to speak, to call out to Heka and tell her to stand down.
But before I could get the words out, Octavius made his decision.
I guess today just isn’t Octavius’ lucky day:
“Never mind that, Kapil!” Oh, Aladdin’s name is Kapil. Noted. “I accept her challenge!”
Octavius’ voice had rung out across the guild hall, bold and defiant, with an absurd bravado.
He had clearly decided that his pride was worth more than his life, that the shame of backing down would be worse than the risk of demise.
He puffed out his chest, raised his chin, and tried to look confident.
Eric quickly looked at the Guild Master upstairs, and the battle hardened looking person nodded his approval, much to Eric’s dismay.
However, the circus was sent outside, to ensure clean up in aisle five won’t be indoors.
The adventurers began to file out, their faces painted with excitement and anticipation.
The crowd gathered in an open square outside the guild, forming a wide circle around the designated dueling area.
Octavius was a real jerk, because he didn’t use the sword he was possessing when Heka made the arrangements.
He went and take a great sword that glowed faintly with aggressive magic. He wanted to make sure Heka died on the first hit.
The sword was massive, almost as tall as he was, its blade wide and thick. It pulsed with a faint blue light, the magic within it humming with barely contained power.
It was a weapon designed for killing, for carving through flesh and bone with minimal effort. And Octavius had chosen it specifically because he wanted to end the duel as quickly as possible.
“Are you sure?” I asked Heka, as I stood at a corner. My voice was low, meant only for her ears, but she sure could hear me.
The dizziness had faded, and I was ready to intervene if necessary.
Everyone had created enough space for them to duel, since it wasn’t uncommon for someone some feet away to receive damage from the force of a sword slash.
The crowd had formed a wide circle, pressed against the walls of the surrounding buildings.
There was also a barrier enclosing the two, so the damage remain mostly within.
The barrier shimmered faintly, a translucent dome of magical energy that would contain the violence and protect the onlookers from (most of) the stray attacks.
Heka nodded at me and before she turned fully, Octavius had began to yelled, further imbuing the sword with magic as it glowed brightly.
The blade pulsed with power, its light growing more intense with each passing moment. Octavius’s face was contorted with effort, his muscles straining as he channeled every ounce of his strength into the weapon.
“There’s no turning back now, Amazon!” He laughed, “I didn’t do this. You did!”
Then… he surprised me with a speed I didn’t think he had, appearing before Heka in a low stance, his neck and hand popping veins as he gathered strength in them.
The movement was sudden and explosive, a blur of motion that caught me off guard. He was unleashing everything he had.
With a swift slash aimed at Heka’s neck, Octavius’ attack connected.
But after tearing into Heka’s flesh, the blade of the great sword shattered upon full contact with neck.
The sound was sharp, high-pitched, like glass breaking against stone. Shards of metal flew in all directions, glittering in the light of the sun.
Heka’s skin had been cut, a thin line of red appearing across her throat, but… the weapon had not done what it was supposed to do.
The line of blood on Heka’s neck began dripping blood due to the broken flesh, but the wound was shallow—barely more than a slightly deep paper cut.
Octavius stared at the sword in his hand, at the broken hilt that was all that remained of his weapon, then his face went pale.
“Mhm. A great start for a death duel!” Heka declared like a drip agent, then locked eyes with her opponent, “With a dozen more, my head may roll! Hahaha…! Okay, my turn.”
After hearing this, I could almost taste the fear that emanated from Octavius’ body; it was a fear of death.
His legs trembled, his eyes dilated, and his mouth was open in shock.
He had truly given everything he had, had poured all his strength into that single blow, and it had barely cut her.
The realization was dawning on him, slow and terrible, that he was facing something far beyond what he thought.
“L… Lies! You cheated somehow!” He accused Heka.
His voice was high-pitched and hysterical, as he took a step back.
“I did no such dishonorable thing!” Heka folded her arms and squinted, “You simply do not understand how to fully utilize a weapon. It was like using the flat side of a knife to cut a piece of meat. Fine. Someone, please give him another weapon.”
Octavius had been sweating buckets, but hearing Heka’s words, he sensed hope again, and brightened up.
Surely, he would kill her this time around.
***
CRASHHH!
“Tell me this, sir… how do you intend to pay those gentlemen for their sword when you become a split piece of flesh?” Heka frowned at the pieces of metal on the ground.
But the honesty and casualness in which Heka said this drove primal fear into all the witnesses there.
They shifted uncomfortably, their earlier excitement replaced by a growing unease. They had come to watch a fight, but they were beginning to realize that they were truly watching an execution.
After he had received another sleek but long sword, since his great sword broke, he aimed for that exact spot where he hurt Heka before.
That should have been smart.
But it shattered again, against the inside of her minimally torn neck, only causing it to bleed some more.
“I heard she killed the biggest dragon on her own.”
“Th-that’s impossible. Amazons are not supposed to be that strong!”
“I heard she even slapped it!”
“Either way, it seems it’s only a matter of time before Octavius is butchered. Poor guy.”
The loud whispers from the on-watchers made Octavius start to shiver like a terrified little girl, as he looked around with an extremely pitiful face.